The engine firing provided a slingshot-like boost to the Orion capsule, speeding it up to some 25,000 mph, the velocity needed to break free of Earth's gravitational clasp for a trek to the moon.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station ( ISS) also stayed up to witness the April 1 launch from orbit, cheering on their colleagues as the rocket carved its path skyward and began a journey...

Four Artemis astronauts were zooming towards the moon today after a major engine firing, a milestone that commits Nasa to the first crewed lunar flyby in more than half a century.