Sawt Falasteen - Astronauts blast off for historic US lunar journey

With an intense roar that reverberated far beyond the launchpad the enormous orange-and-white rocket carried three Americans and one Canadian away from Florida's Kennedy Space Center at approximately 6:35 pm local time.

NASA teams and spectators alike cheered on the spacecraft as it ascended away from Earth, a milestone that finally came to fruition after years of delays and massive cost overruns.

"We're going to the Moon!" exclaimed one onlooker.

During final checks before Artemis 2 was deemed a go for launch, astronauts gave brief words: "We are going for all humanity," said the Canadian aboard, Jeremy Hansen.

Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson then addressed the astronauts directly.

"Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy: On this historic mission, you take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation. Good luck. God speed Artemis 2. Let's go," she said.

The weather was not quite perfect but close to it, with a 90 percent chance of conditions suitable for launch.

The team, clad in bright orange suits with blue trim, includes Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Hansen.

The first steps involving performing various checks to ensure the reliability and safety of the spacecraft -- it has never carried humans before -- before venturing forth on the approximately 10-day journey in which they'll hurtle around the Moon without landing.

They will also test its manual piloting capabilities during docking simulations.

- Repeated setbacks -

The journey marks a series of historic accomplishments: it will send the first person of color, the first woman and the first non-American on a lunar mission.

If the mission proceeds as planned, the astronauts will set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before.

It is also the inaugural crewed flight of NASA's new lunar rocket, dubbed the Space Launch System (SLS).

The mammoth orange-and-white rocket is designed to allow the United States to repeatedly return to the Moon, with the goal of establishing a permanent base that will offer a platform for further exploration.

The mission was originally due to launch as early as February.

But repeated setbacks stalled it and even necessitated rolling the rocket back to its hangar for analysis and repairs.

Some 400,000 people were expected to gather near the so-called Space Coast to watch history in the making, according to local authorities.

- 'BEYOND THE STARS' -

The Artemis program was facing pressure from President Donald Trump, who has pushed the pace of a program that aims to see boots hit the lunar surface before his second term ends in early 2029.

Artemis 2's objectives include verifying that both the rocket and the spacecraft are in working order to pave the way for a Moon landing in 2028.

That deadline has raised eyebrows among experts, in part because Washington is relying on the private sector's technological headway.

The current era of American lunar investment has frequently been portrayed as an effort to compete with China, which is aiming to land humans on the Moon by 2030.

Trump will be tied up Wednesday evening addressing the nation in his first such speech since US and Israeli forces began strikes on Iran on February 28, igniting a regional war and a global energy crisis.

But he took a moment to drop a line on social media ahead of the planned launch.

"We are WINNING, in Space, on Earth, and everywhere in between -- Economically, Militarily, and now, BEYOND THE STARS. Nobody comes close! America doesn't just compete, we DOMINATE, and the whole World is watching," Trump posted on Truth Social.

N.Awad--SF-PST