Cheers erupted in the main plaza of Space Center Houston as NASA launched its first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years. The Wednesday evening liftoff of Artemis II, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, was followed by several minutes of silence as the audience in Texas took in the historic moment.
Hundreds packed into Space Center Houston — located close to Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, which will manage the 10-day mission — to watch the spacecraft take off. They cheered loudly, waving American flags and keeping their eyes fixed on the massive projector screen streaming NASA's live coverage.
At liftoff, a wave of emotion swept through the watch party. Some attendees wiped tears from their eyes and most recorded the moment on their cellphones.
The mission had already been delayed twice this year and many in the audience, like 11-year-old Nicolas Gifford, said they have been eagerly awaiting the moment.
Gifford has had the Artemis II launch on his mind for months.
"I'm really obsessed," he said. "My dream is to go to space when I’m older [and] to be the first person on Mars."
His family bought tickets to the watch party months ago and even traveled to Cape Canaveral, Florida, in March, hoping to see the launch in person. When the mission was postponed until April, they came home to Houston disappointed.
Gifford arrived at the space center on Wednesday with his younger brother Eli and his grandmother Mary Alice Gifford feeling cautiously optimistic.
"Fingers crossed," Mary Alice said ahead of the liftoff. She worried about the launch being scheduled on April 1.
"We thought, ‘April Fool's Day, really?'" she said.
Still, she pulled Nicolas and Eli out of school early and made the nearly hourlong drive to Clear Lake.
For the Gifford family, the moment was well worth the wait.
"It was really amazing," Mary Alice said.
For Emma Garcia Lamont and her two sons, Alvaro and Nicholas, the second delay worked in their favor. The family bought tickets in January for the original February launch date, but when it was initially pushed to March, they realized they would be out of town.
"It was ideal for us that it was postponed and we could live the experience here with everybody," Lamont said.
She reflected on the many decades that have passed since the last time NASA sent astronauts to the moon and says she impressed upon her sons the magnitude of the experience.
"We’ve told them this is [historic]," Lamont said. "It’s a good family memory."
Meyya Narayanan came to the watch party with her son, Akash, drawn by Houston's lead role in the mission. While the spacecraft launched from Florida, the flight is being operated by NASA teams right here in the city.
"The fact that they're controlling it just down the street from us is pretty incredible," Narayanan said. "Being here to witness it, especially with our kids, is definitely once-in-a-lifetime."
Anna Maria Nicolae, who watched the moment alongside her son, Maximillian, also noted the leadership role Houston had in the historic moment.
"When you see that Houston is going to control it, it’s such a feeling of pride," Nicolae said. "It’s like, man, it’s happening here in our backyard."
She called the experience unifying.
"It gives you hope," Nicolae said. "I think it gives us hope that we can collaborate to solve the big mysteries out there in the universe."
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