If you missed the live broadcast – or simply want to relive the moment in full cinematic quality – this 4K footage of the Artemis II launch is essential viewing.
Nasa’s Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 6.35pm US Eastern on 1 April 2026, carrying the Orion spacecraft – named Integrity by its crew – on a roughly 10-day flyby of the moon. It is the first crewed mission beyond low-Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972, and the first crewed flight of both the SLS and Orion.
The four-person crew comprised Nasa commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch, alongside Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen. The mission was a critical test flight ahead of Artemis III, which is intended to return humans to the lunar surface.
The footage captures the full spectacle of the most powerful rocket Nasa has ever flown clearing the tower – the brilliance of the SLS core stage’s four RS-25 engines and twin solid rocket boosters generating 39.1 meganewtons of thrust at lift-off, the rumble of the launch reverberating across the Florida coast, and the climb through the atmosphere as Orion began its journey towards the moon.
Watch in 4K for the full effect. — © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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