NASA launches most powerful rocket on historic moon mission after delays

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Nasa has finally launched its historic Artemis moon mission with the its most powerful rocket to date, but years late and billions over budget.

The 100m-tall Artemis vehicle was launched today (November 16( from Cape Canaveral in Florida with an uncrewed spacecraft called Orion.

It was given the "go" to begin its ascent at 01:47 local time (06:47 GMT). The craft has a couple of important manoeuvres to make to get it on the right path to the moon, which will take place a couple of hours after the launch.

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In both August and September, launches had to be ditched during the countdown due to technical glitches.

NASA said that early next year a manned flight will be sent to the moon, so that the lunar surface could be investigated.

Mission managers met on Monday (November 14) to discuss the flight readiness of the rocket and spacecraft after it was slightly damaged by Hurricane Nicole, The Mirror reported.

They determined that there is a low likelihood that if additional material tears off it would pose a critical risk to the flight.

They gave the launch "go" to proceed, and final checks were carried out before the launch.

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The project is years late and billions over budget, with a price tag for the test flight standing at more than $4billion (£3.37billion).

The 322ft (98m) tall SLS rocket, the world's most powerful rocket to date, is due to take the Orion capsule, powered by the Airbus-built European Service Module (ESM), into the moon's orbit.

The flight, which will carry mannequins rather than astronauts, marks the next chapter in putting humans back on the moon.

There will be people on board for subsequent missions, with the first crewed flight into space scheduled for 2024.

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