#Cape Canaveral
NASA begun fuelling its moon rocket Wednesday for humanity's first lunar trip in more than half a century, aiming for an evening liftoff with four astronauts.
NASA's Artemis II rocket with the Orion spacecraft with four astronauts is set to lift off at 6.24 pm local time Wednesday (3.54 am Thursday in India) from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on a 10-day odyssey that will take them tantalisingly close to the moon, but they will not land there.
Tensions were high as hydrogen fuel started flowing into the rocket hours ahead of the planned launch. Dangerous hydrogen leaks erupted during a countdown test earlier this year, forcing a lengthy flight delay.
The launch team needs to load more than of 2.6 million litres of fuel into the 32-storey Space Launch System rocket on the pad before the Artemis II crew can board.
"It is time to fly," commander Reid Wiseman said on the eve of launch via X. Favourable weather was forecast.
Three Americans and one Canadian will fly around the moon without stopping or even orbiting - then head straight back for a Pacific splashdown.Agencies