HELENA - Humanity took its next big steps in space exploration earlier this week and a Montanan experienced that leap firsthand.
"It was indescribable," said ExplorationWorks Education Director Sara Feilzer.
That was her explaining her experience traveling to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to see the Artemis 1 launch.
She and 100 other digital creators were selected for this unique experience and she couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, it was a little unbelievable, actually. I had to read the email like three or four times to make sure I was reading it correctly," said Feilzer.
The rocket left the launch pad at around 1:40 a.m. Eastern Time. Feilzer says the massive rocket, Nasa's most powerful to date, lit up the night sky.
"It started to light up and you could just barely see at the bottom it started to light up. And then it was like the sun was rising and it was incredibly bright and it just started to go," said Feilzer.
When it was airborne, that's when Feilzer says she got emotional.
"I started crying. Immediately started crying. We were yelling, we were screaming. And then the sound and shockwaves hit," said Feilzer.
Experiencing this launch firsthand got Feilzer excited for future space exploration and NASA's goal to eventually return people to the moon.
And she says she can't wait to share this experience with her students.
"It is so exciting to see that truly this is the generation that these kids are going to grow up with. People walking on the moon, with people living on the moon for months at a time," said Feilzer.
