The four astronauts have approval to fire up the Orion capsule engine for the first crewed lunar fly-by in half a century
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 5:52am, 3 Apr 2026Nasa gave the four Artemis astronauts circling Earth the green light on Thursday to head for the moon and carry out the first crewed lunar fly-by in more than 50 years.
Nasa Flight Director Jeff Radigan told the astronauts the mission management team had approved firing up the engine of their Orion capsule to send the spacecraft on a trajectory towards the moon.
The 5 min and 49 second burn is scheduled to take place at 7.49pm Eastern Time and send the astronauts out of Earth orbit to begin the three-day voyage towards the moon, the first since 1972.
“Flight controllers will closely monitor engine performance, guidance, and navigation data throughout the manoeuvre to ensure Orion remains precisely aligned for the outbound journey,” Nasa said.
The enormous orange-and-white Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion capsule blasted off flawlessly from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday for the long-anticipated journey around the moon.
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