Live coverage: Kennedy Space Center to reopen Friday

NASA officials announced Thursday that the agency will move forward with the development of a plutonium-powered robotic quadcopter drone to explore Saturn’s moon Titan, a hazy world covered with dunes and methane lakes that scientists say is reminiscent of the ancient Earth.

The launch came following several stormy days across Florida’s Space Coast. Liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force happened at 9:58 p.m. EDT (0158 UTC).

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced on Tuesday that Artemis 2 will be delayed until Sept. 2025 and Artemis 3 until Sept. 2026. The additional time is needed both from a hardware readiness perspective as well as to answer outstanding questions about the heat shield.