FLORIDA: The European Space Agency will negotiate future participation in NASA missions after the US space agency revamped its lunar program, the agency’s head said.

The US space agency recently announced it is suspending its so-called Gateway lunar orbital space station efforts to focus on building a base on the Moon’s surface. This left the European role in future exploration unclear. The ESA had an agreement with NASA for three astronaut flights to Gateway.

“The Gateway is postponed, therefore I will need to sit down with the administrator, that means Jared Isaacman, and the NASA team, to negotiate how these seats that have been earmarked for the Gateway can be utilized for the surface,” ESA head Josef Aschbacher said.

Four astronauts blasted off aboard a massive NASA rocket on Wednesday on a long-anticipated journey around the Moon, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

With a thunderous roar that reverberated far beyond the launchpad, the enormous orange-and-white rocket carried three Americans and one Canadian away from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.

NASA teams and spectators alike were ecstatic as the spacecraft ascended into a radiant sky atop a cascade of flames.

The team, who donned bright orange suits with blue trim as the mission began, includes Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen.

“We have a beautiful moonrise. We’re headed right at it,” said Wiseman, the mission commander.

US President Donald Trump praised “our brave astronauts,” calling the successful launch “quite something” during a televised address.

The astronauts are now in orbit around the Earth, where they will remain while performing various checks to ensure the reliability and safety of a spacecraft that has never carried humans before.

They successfully completed “promixity operations” demonstrations, which tested how their Orion capsule can move relative to another spacecraft and included various maneuvers that mimic what would be needed to dock with a lunar lander.

“Great flying with you, Houston. Nice vehicle,” said pilot Glover.