NASA's Artemis exploration on track as Orion shares first visuals

A space capsule hurtled toward the moon Wednesday for the first time in 50 years, following a thunderous launch of NASA’s mightiest rocket in a dress rehearsal for astronaut flights.

No one was on board this debut flight, just three test dummies. The capsule is headed for a wide orbit around the moon and then a return to Earth with a Pacific splashdown in about three weeks.

After years of delays and billions in cost overruns, the Space Launch System rocket roared skyward, rising from Kennedy Space Center on 8.8 million pounds (4 million kilograms) of thrust and hitting 100 mph (160 kph) within seconds.

The Orion capsule was perched on top and, less than two hours into the flight, busted out of Earth's orbit toward the moon.

The liftoff marked the start of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program, named after Apollo’s mythological twin sister.

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The space agency is aiming to send four astronauts around the moon on the next flight, in 2024, and land humans there as early as 2025.