The quiet Florida evening was no match for the 8.8 million lb. of thrust that erupted from the base of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) moon rocket.

Four astronauts embarked on a high-stakes flight around the moon Wednesday, humanity’s first lunar voyage in more than half a century and the thrilling leadoff in NASA’s push toward a landing in two y...

It’s a new chapter in space exploration with a veteran crew testing a spaceship that’s never before carried humans.