NASA's most powerful rocket launches toward the moon

Within seconds of launching, the rocket hit 100 mph.
Artemis I moon rocket, Cape Canaveral, Fla., Nov. 16, 2022

NASA launched the Artemis I moon rocket early Wednesday morning, as the most powerful rocket ever built by the agency starts its three-week mission to circle the moon.

The Space Launch System rocket rose from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with 8.8 million pounds of thrust and within seconds flew up at 100 mph, The Associated Press reported.

After years of delay and overbudget expenses, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said: "It's a great day."