November 16th, 2022: We have liftoff! After a handful of delays and scrubbed launches, Artemis I was able to take to the skies, and beyond, in the early morning of Wednesday, November 16th. The uncrewed Orion spacecraft is currently on its way to the Moon, where its trajectory will take within 60 miles of the surface of the Moon on November 21st before settling into a distant retrograde orbit for about a week as it tests and characterizes various systems in preparation for future Artemis missions. Orion will then make its way back to Earth, re-entering the atmosphere on December 11th.
Odyssey is proud to have worked, and continue to work, on the Artemis program’s hardware and software. Many of our engineers and flight controllers have put in years of diligent work towards all aspects of the Artemis program, and we are all excited to see the fruits of our labor so brilliantly displayed to the world. In addition to all the work we put in to get the Orion spacecraft ready, Odyssey personnel also supported pre-launch operations with our flight controllers in the Mission Control Center (MCC) and will assist post-launch operations with staff supporting the Mission Evaluation Room (MER).
Just like the exhaust from the powerful SLS rocket that took Orion to space, the future of the Artemis program is bright! We look forward to the successful completion of the Artemis I mission.
Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
