“It was amazingly quiet in the launch control center. You could feel the focus of the team, the intensity of the moment.” Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson recalls the last couple minutes before liftoff of the #Artemis I mission. The Orion spacecraft launched atop the Space Launch System rocket from @NASAKennedy’s Launch Complex 39B on Nov. 16, 2022. During the flight, Orion flew farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans to deep space and safely return them to Earth, paving the way for human deep space exploration and demonstrating NASA’s commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. Video credit: @NASA/Chris Chamberland Cover photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett #MegaMoonRocket #Liftoff #Launch #LaunchDirector #Orion #LunarMission #STEM #NASA #NASAKennedy