Artemis II blasts off on first crewed lunar mission since Apollo

Toilet trouble, telemetry problems, and an issue with the flight termination system have not marred the Artemis II mission to the Moon, which launched yesterday.

The four-person crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen, was sent into orbit during the first launch opportunity on April 1.

The crew was packed into the Orion capsule, dubbed Integrity, a few hours before launch. Liftoff took place at 22:35:12 UTC after a number of snags during an otherwise trouble-free count. While the leaks that vexed an early Wet Dress Rehearsal did not reappear, several last-minute glitches cropped up, including a problem with the Flight Termination System and a battery temperature warning on the Launch Abort System.

In the closing minutes of the countdown, controllers reported a brief telemetry dropout, but the ...