File:Artemis I Liftoff Activities (KSC-20221116-PH-KLS01 0606).jpeg

English: Former space shuttle Launch Directors Mike Leinbach, left, and Bob Sieck, shake hands inside Launch Control Center Firing Room 1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 16, 2022 after the successful launch of the agency’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39B was at 1:47 a.m. EST. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.