NASA's new moon rocket sits on Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, hours before a planned liftoff in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Photo: AP)

NASA launched the most powerful rocket ever built on a journey to the Moon on Wednesday, in a spectacular blaze of light and sound that marked the start of the space agency's new flagship program, Artemis.

The 32-story tall Space Launch System (SLS) blasted off from the storied Kennedy Space Center in Florida at around 01:48 am (0648 GMT).