The rocket carried a lunar lander named Athena which will reach the Moon in about a week. Once there, it will measure gases from the lunar soil near the Moon's south pole. The Artemis mission's stated long-term goal is to establish a permanent base on the Moon.

After three days of delays, SpaceX managed a Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral completing two launches on the Space Coast in just over three hours Wednesday.

SpaceX is targeting a late Wednesday night launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink internet satellites to low Earth orbit.