Crowds watched the Artemis II rocket lift off Wednesday evening from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. CBS News’ Rob Marciano spoke with the Ross family, who came from Colorado Springs and had pulled the girls out of school for the chance to see the launch. They arrived early — the family was at the site from 7 a.m. and got in at 1 a.m. — and were due to fly home the next day, so seeing the launch was especially important to them.
Marciano reported observers felt the launch even from about 7–8 miles away and said many in the crowd looked joyful and relieved. He chatted with children in Space View Park: Carly said, “It was really cool,” while Emily told him, “It was the coolest thing I’ve seen ever.” A boy nicknamed “Commander Jack” was described as running around excitedly and saying he was ready for Mars after witnessing the launch.
The broadcast noted that, while the mission was not over, people were celebrating this milestone and grateful they had made the trip.