Image source, Nasa

We're going to be closing our live coverage shortly, as the Orion capsule heads towards the Moon.

But before we go - here's a recap.

• The American space agency, Nasa, has launched the most powerful rocket ever built
• The hundred-metre-tall vehicle blasted off at 01:47 local time (06:47 GMT) on its debut flight from Florida's Kennedy Space Center to send a unmanned capsule around the Moon
• The Artemis I mission is a test of the technologies that will take astronauts back to the lunar surface later this decade, after an absence of more than 50 years
• The Orion capsule will come back in roughly 26 days, according to Nasa. That gives an expected splashdown date of 11 December
• The aim for that splashdown is the Pacific Ocean - just off the coast of San Diego, California.

Thanks very much for joining us. You can read our main story here.

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

Image source, Reuters

With a roar of its mighty engines, Nasa’s new rocket has lifted us into a new era for human spaceflight.

Nasa’s astronauts watched on – if this mission is a success, next time they will be onboard, first flying around the Moon, and then landing on it. But we’re not there yet.

The Orion spacecraft may be on its way, but it has more than a million miles of travel ahead.

It has to reach the Moon, orbit around it, and then return home. Nasa has to show this system is safe before any astronauts can be strapped in for the ride.

But today is a major step - a giant leap some might say – to returning people to the Moon, so we can make our mark on the lunar surface once again.

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

It's been a long time coming but finally it really does seem as though we're going back to the Moon.

It's remarkable to think that this December will mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 17, the very last lunar excursion.

When Gene Cernan and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt stepped off the Moon to leave for home, no-one could have imagined it would take a half century to produce another rocket and capsule system capable of visiting Earth's satellite.

Artemis will be different. Nasa wants the return to be permanent this time.

Cernan and Schmitt spent just three days on the Moon. Future astronauts will live in a lunar base.

Those astronauts will look different, too. The next landing will see a woman step on to the surface, along with the first person of colour.

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

When you think about Nasa rocket launches, you picture places like the Kennedy Space Center in Florida or Mission Control in Houston.

But a remote communications centre in South West England is also playing a key role in the Artemis mission.

Goonhilly Earth Station, which is situated on the Lizard Peninsular in Cornwall, is tracking the Orion spacecraft on its journey to the Moon.

It uses a huge dish, which is nicknamed Merlin, to pick up a signal beamed out by the capsule.

It’s part of a network of deep space antenna that will work together to provide Nasa with information about the precise location and speed of the spacecraft.

It’s not the first time Goonhilly has been involved with a major Moon mission. In 1969, it transmitted images of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the lunar surface around the world.

The burn is complete - Orion is now flying free and on its journey heading to the Moon, Nasa says.

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

More than a decade in the making, Nasa’s $20bn (£17bn) rocket – the Space Launch System (SLS) – has launched the first Artemis mission to the Moon.

The rocket stands at nearly 100m (320ft), roughly the height of a 32-storey building.

It’s designed to lift heavy payloads off Earth, so it needs loads of power – which comes from four main engines and two huge boosters.

The fuel to run them takes up 90% of the rocket’s weight.

The rocket travels at speeds of up to 20,000 miles (30,000km) an hour.

Its job is to send crew capsules and other equipment on a 380,000km (240,000 mile) journey from Earth to the Moon.

Read more about Artemis and how we get humans back to the Moon here.

Image source, .

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

The next milestone is to release Orion and its European service module.

They'll separate from the upper-stage to make their own way to the Moon.

That should come up at about 08:46 GMT. Then we really do have a mission.

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

It might not have the catchiest name, but the trans lunar injection is a big moment.

Essentially, it’s an engine burn that lasts for 18 minutes – and it provides the power for spacecraft to escape Earth orbit and begin its journey to the Moon.

After this, the final parts of the rocket are shed – and the Orion capsule, where astronauts will eventually sit, will be travelling solo for its 26-day voyage.

Every step of this journey will be carefully monitored – Nasa needs to know that everything is working perfectly before people get onboard for the next mission.

Nasa says another important process has started - the trans lunar injection burn.

Image source, Nasa

Nasa has been answering questions shared on social media following the launch.

One of them comes from actor Jack Black, who wants to know how long it's going to take the Orion capsule to go around the Moon and back.

And what will happen with re-entry, he wonders? "It sounds like it's going to be hot," says the Hollywood star.

Astronaut Kayla Barron responds that Orion will be back after a 26-day mission.

She affirms that its re-entry to Earth's atmosphere will be "something else", with heats of 5,000F (2,760C) expected, which is half the heat of the Sun.

The goal is to test the craft's heat shield, she explains. "We expect that it will perform well."

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

A very important manoeuvre has just been concluded by the rocket's upper-stage.

At launch, the vehicle put itself into a highly elliptical orbit around the Earth that would bring it crashing back down without a correction.

That correction - a burn on the upper-stage engine - has just taken place, raising and circularising the orbit.

It has set the mission up for its next big moment. The push towards the Moon.

The upper-stage will fire its engine again for about 18 minutes. This will send the Orion capsule on the right path to reach Earth's satellite in about six days from now.

A key talking point around the Artemis launch is why now - and why the Moon when we've already been?

In Nasa's own words, it is “going back to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers”.

The long-term goal of the Artemis programme is to establish a space station and a lunar base camp on the Moon, so astronauts can eventually spend much longer periods of time there.

After that, the space agency wants to enact its "Moon to Mars" programme - with a current goal to have people on Mars in the next 20 years. (The journey to the Moon takes three days but reaching Mars is a far lengthier and trickier goal.)

In the short term, 10 shoebox-sized satellites called CubeSats will drop off once Orion is approaching the Moon. They will conduct a range of science experiments and technology demonstrations in deep space.

Technology has massively improved since the Apollo programme of 1961, meaning there's a greater chance this time around of learning even more about the Moon and space in general.

Nasa engineers have been describing the dramatic moment a short time before launch this morning, when they were asked to enter the "blast danger zone" to sort out last-minute hitches.

The area is so-called due to the risks posed by the fuelling of the rocket.

"It's pretty scary," says Trent Annis. "My heart was pumping."

But he adds that he was "very excited" to carry out those final operations on the launch pad.

Image source, Nasa

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

Image source, Reuters

The American space agency Nasa has launched its most powerful ever rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

The 100m-tall Artemis vehicle climbed skyward in a stupendous mix of light and sound.

Its objective is to hurl an astronaut capsule in the direction of the Moon.

This spacecraft, known as Orion, is uncrewed for this particular flight, but if everything works as it should, people will climb aboard for future missions that go to the lunar surface.

Wednesday's flight followed two previous launch attempts in August and September that were aborted during the countdown because of technical glitches.

But such issues were overcome on this occasion, and the Space Launch System, as the rocket is often called, was given the "go" to begin its ascent from the Kennedy Space Center at 01:47 local time (06:47 GMT).

Re-live the moment as Nasa's most powerful rocket ever launched from the Kennedy Space Center.

Image source, Nasa

More from the Kennedy Space Center now, where Nasa flight director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson is addressing her colleagues after the successful launch of the Artemis I mission.

"For once I might be speechless," she says, before paying tribute to her team's hard work.

"This is your moment," she says - receiving applause.

"You have earned your place in history," Blackwell-Thompson continues.

She describes the mission as the first step for humanity's return to the Moon - and a later visit to Mars.

She thanks her peers for their "resilience" after two scrubbed launches.

In keeping with Nasa tradition, she asks a colleague to cut her tie.

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

Image source, Getty Images

Wow – what a thrill to finally see this rocket fly, lighting up the sky and with such a huge roar of sound as it blasted off.

After so many delays it felt like it would never happen.

And everything is looking good so far – the rocket parts are separating away as planned, and next up the solar arrays will be deployed.

The next two hours are critical – there will be some essential manoeuvres as the rocket leaves Earth orbit and heads to the Moon.

But getting the rocket off the ground is the first big step – and the start of humanity’s return to the Moon.

Image source, NASA

Back at Kennedy Space Center, a Nasa astronaut says she's still feeling "giddy" after the launch.

"It took my breath away and I was tearing up", says Kayla Barron.

"What an amazing accomplishment for this team," she adds.

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

In 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first small steps on the Moon, they ushered in a golden era of space exploration.

The Apollo programme transformed how we see our planet and ourselves.

Now, 50 years on, the Moon is in humanity's sights again. And for those who never got to witness the Apollo missions for themselves, the hope is that Artemis will inspire a new generation.

The new missions are different. Nasa is planning to eventually land the first woman and first person of colour on the Moon - showing that space exploration is open to everyone.

And the lunar surface is just the start. Nasa's ambition lies even further afield, its sights are set on Mars. And that truly will be a giant leap to experience.

"The engines are looking good," Nasa says, just over five minutes into the flight of the Space Launch System.

The huge rocket is travelling at 6,000 mph (9,656) kmh.