We have lift off!
The Artemis crew are officially on their way in a historic 10-day mission around the Moon, which could take them further from Earth than anyone has ever been before.
NASA’s Artemis II launch went ahead after the final hatch of the Orion spacecraft has been closed and the crew are sealed in.
On what is a significant day in NASA’s history, humanity’s first flight to the moon since 1972 was scheduled for 23:24pm British Summer Time (18:24 EDT) from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Earlier, NASA said it was dealing with an unspecified issue with the rocket’s flight-termination system, which would send a self-destruct signal to the rocket in case it veered off course and was aiming for a populated area.
A separate issue affecting one of the craft’s battery appears to have also been cleared.
“Pretty unique situation here,” NASA commentator Derrol Nail explained.
Before boarding the astrovan for the nine-mile ride to the launch pad, the astronauts waved and shaped their hands into hearts as they emerged from crew quarters and said goodbye to their families.
Commander Reid Wiseman thanked the crowds that had who gathered to see them off, calling out: “It’s a great day for us. It’s a great day for this team.”
Three of the astronauts shared a pre-launch message moments before the countdown began:
“We are going for our families,” said pilot Victor Glover.
“We are going for our teammates,” said mission specialist Christina Koch.
“We are going for all humanity,” said mission specialist Jeremy Hansen.
MDW Live! News Network 
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