This is Public Affairs Officer, Marcus Garcia, reporting. Luna Redux, the fourteenth annual simulated fifth grade space mission at Columbus Magnet School in Norwalk, Connecticut began just minutes ago.

The flight officially began at 10:10 Eastern Daylight Savings Time, when the Saturn V rocket carrying a crew of 8 lifted off cleared the tower at Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

All five S4-B engines performed flawlessly, and the spacecraft reached earth orbit approximately 10 minutes after launch.

The Saturn V rocket is the largest rocket ever assembled. It produces 7,500,000 pounds of thrust. It is America’s moon rocket and just like its predecessors in the Apollo program of 40 years ago, this launch is just the beginning of a journey to earth’s closest celestial neighbor.

On board the spacecraft are astronauts Wylie Makovsky, Aaron Post, and Jessica Magnoli. Also on board are mission specialists Caleb Lewis and Anika Chatterjee, as well as payload specialists Kristen Williams, Eli Felber and Jake Yonkers.

Manning mission control at the current time is the Blue Team of Flight Director Emma Spahr, Capcom Griffin Weiss, Public Affairs Officer Esha Sharma, Flight Surgeon Pamela Chajon, Guidance Officer James Hobayan, Electrical, Environmental and Consumables Manager Mackenzie Lea, Flight Activities Officer Cedric Thigpen, and Meteorologist Jeremy Middleton.

Waiting in the wings is the Gold Team of controllers: Flight Director Mitchell Bartolo, Capcom Isabelle Weiss, Public Affairs Officer Marcus Garcia, Flight Surgeon Christopher Lea, Guidance Officer Nadia Schriel, Electrical, Environmental and Consumables Manager Harper Gande, Flight Activities Officer Megan Ramirez, and Meteorologist Ernest Morales.

The Blue Team assures us that, at the current time, all systems are “Go.”