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Good afternoon from the Space Coast of Florida, where four astronauts are about to suit up
for NASA's boldest test flight in a generation.
This crew could be the first humans to journey around the moon in more than half a century.
Artemis II mission is a test mission of the Orion space capsule.
Artemis II will be the first time we put humans on this rocket.
We're going back to the moon because it's the next step in our journey to Mars.
We were always going to the moon.
Pushing ourselves to explore is just a core to who we are.
That's a part of being a human.
And we're from the moon.
We shall return.
Continuing to test out every bit of Orion.
Coming back to Earth, seven miles, seven seconds.
Humanity sets big goals.
We can bring together genius from around the world.
the best people on planet Earth, putting this vehicle together to innovate for the benefit
of humanity and to inspire the world to discover it.
And here we go.
Welcome, and thank you for joining us live from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where we
We are beginning a new chapter in America's human space flight story.
We are so humbled to have thousands of people here in person to witness this and the many
more watching online from around the world.
I'm NASA's Megan Cruz and this is NASA Astronaut Nicole Ayres.
Thanks Megan.
What a historic day to be here.
What a historic day to be here.
Obviously for what we see right behind us here, the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft
on launch pad 39B.
Artemis-2 is a nearly 10-day flight test to prove NASA can safely fly astronauts around
the moon before attempting to land on it in just two years, hopefully.
Yes, you know, like you said, it's a test vice.
We're going to put humans on this rocket for the first time ever, and we're going to test
out the systems on board and hopefully get around the moon.
And why does NASA want to return us to the moon?
Man, we want to go back for scientific discovery, right?
We want to create a permanent presence on the lunar surface.
We want to be able to harness some of the volatiles or the resources on the moon in order
to get us onto Mars later. So we're going to use the moon as a stepping stone to get to Mars,
but also we're going to use the moon to learn so much about Earth and about the creation of the
solar system. You know, the moon is this untouched witness mark for the Earth and the solar system.
And what I really love is like all the things that we do to get us to explore our universe,
all of that technology, all the jobs created to support that, it all benefits us here on Earth.
Yes, definitely. I mean, getting this rocket into orbit takes, you know, 8.8 million pounds of
thrust, right? And it's the people on Earth who do that and who create that. The engineers, the
scientists, there are so many people who make this mission happen. And so if all goes well,
this crew could travel farther from Earth than any other humans before them and see parts of the
moon no one has ever laid eyes on. And now speaking of laying eyes, here we are in the suit-up room
with the Artemis II crew.
Yes, looks like the commander's getting his ComCap on,
so the communication cap.
Looks like Victor's already got his on
and the helmet going.
He's just stretching out his wrist a little bit, right?
Yes.
And in charge of lift off today
is launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson.
She and her team are just across the street from us
inside of the launch control center.
They kicked off continuous around-the-clock operations
just before 5 p.m. on Monday
and started fueling the rocket about four hours ago.
They have a two hour launch window
that opens at 6.24 p.m. Eastern time,
which our clock in the upper left hand corner
is counting down to.
And we just heard from Charlie Blackwell-Thompson
in our tanking coverage, which was the broadcast
just before this one kicked off.
And basically she said, whether is 80% go?
Yes, you know, 80% we will take that.
It's a little windy.
There's some clouds building,
but we're gonna keep an eye on it.
And 80% is a good number to keep moving today.
Yeah, and what she said was a wave of showers are moving west, but they should be well past the pad by the time we launch again.
Hopefully it's six twenty four p.m. today.
Hopefully.
All right. So again, let's head back into that suit up room.
We see Reed Wiseman.
He is the commander of the Artemis II crew and Nicole.
He is putting on what you guys are calling the communications cap, the com cap.
Yes. So it's a little bit for protection of his head there.
but also you can see the mic booms,
and he's got ear cups there so he can hear,
you know, the rockets loud.
So you're gonna wear hearing protection,
but then we also wanna be able to talk to Earth
and talk to each other.
So they're getting that settled,
and then he will put the helmet on over that Comcap.
That Comcap will also connect into the suit,
which then eventually connects into the capsule,
through an umbilical there.
So there's a lot of cords and wires.
You can see them tuck in that cord
under his chin right now.
And so the suits they're wearing,
They're called the Orion Crew Survival Suits or OX Suits.
And so they're worn for launch and reentry
or during high risk or emergency situations.
And I think a lot of people, especially if they're,
have been following NASA for all these decades now,
they're kind of thinking, hey, these look like the suits
that our shuttle astronauts used to wear.
There is a lot of resemblance here.
That's true, yeah, they are very similar.
You know, NASA does a great job of leveraging the lessons
that we learned from previous missions,
so all the way, dating all the way back to Apollo,
you know, some of our first space flight missions.
We learned lessons about the suits
and how to make them better,
and we just continued to carry that through
all the way into the RMS mission.
Time now to introduce you to some of our teams today.
We have Gary Jordan at NASA's Johnson Space Center
in Houston.
He's gonna be inside with the mission control teams,
which will take over from Kennedy's launch control team
right at liftoff.
And then back here at Florida, there's Megan Carter
inside Kennedy Space Center's visitor complex,
Jasmine Hopkins at a launch viewing location,
and then finally Darryl Nail inside the launch control
center with the launch team.
Now each is gonna provide a very unique experience today,
starting first with Darryl,
who has been closely monitoring the launch countdown for us.
Yeah, and welcome into Fire in Room One,
a historic fire in room here
the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It's a pleasure and an honor to be here
reporting what's happening as we lead up to countdown and lift off of Artemis 2.
So far looking pretty good. You see the rocket out there on the pad. It is launch
day and we just got that crew weather brief that you were talking about from
launch director Charlie Blackwell Thompson to the crew. It looks like a
countdown at this point is in good shape and that's great news. Fueling
continues to track well. We just reached all stages replenish. And while we're talking
about the fueling, let's talk about that tanking, pull up the tanking graphic if we could now.
That will give us an indication of where we are with tanking. And I can just tell you,
as you see from this board right here, we are all stages replenish. So all tanks onboard
the SLS, the two liquid hydrogen, lower stage and upper stage, and two liquid oxygen, lower
stage and upper stage are at 100% and that's exactly where we want to be. This kicked off
at 7.30 this morning with a go for cryoload and here we are roughly about five hours later
and we're fully tanked and now in replenish. The amount of propellant on board roughly 733,000
gallons that's about an olympic size pool and a half. Huge amount of propellant. It's all
all float in there. The great news there, no leaks, no issues, and we're looking good
at this point. So let's talk weather now. The weather, while it is favorable overall,
it's not totally clean. And that was hinted at earlier when we talked about the storms.
There is, of course, some onshore flow. Currently, our overall attempt percentage stands at
80% chance of acceptable weather conditions at the time of lift off, which is going to
be within our launch window. That's tonight from 6.24pm Eastern time until 8.24pm Eastern
time. Winds are good, the lightning risk is low, but scattered showers still remain possible
around the Cape and occluding near the pad. So the expectation is that there'll be some
more active weather coming our way, but we're expecting it to push to the west.
So the watch item is really any isolated shower that could briefly move through the area and
trigger a constraint, especially for flight through precipitation.
We are looking now inside the astronauts suit up room, and of course we got the four astronauts
there.
They talked to Charlie Blackwell Thompson today, and you know everything looks good there.
We're tracking one minor NC issue at this point.
We'll talk, it's a non-conformance.
We'll talk about that a little bit later on our next hit.
But for now, again, looking good.
And of course, our administrator for NASA
is here in the firing room.
He checked in with the launch director,
chatted with her for several minutes.
And he's here in the firing room,
which is a good positive sign, of course, for the day.
That's it for the firing room.
We'll send it back now to Megan and Nicole.
Terrell, thank you so much.
Yeah, let's get back into the suit-up room here,
where we now have a shot of all four astronauts,
and it appears all of them are undergoing
their suit leak checks.
Can you talk to us about what that is, Nicole?
Sure, yeah, you can see, you know,
as the suit expands,
that we're gonna pressurize those suits,
so in the case that we need it,
if we lose pressure in the capsule bill,
those suits will protect the astronauts
and keep them pressurized and keep them survivable.
So these guys are gonna hold their breath
for about 10 seconds, you know,
any movement in the suit could cause changes
in the pressure, and so we wanna get a really nice,
precise, accurate measurement on the leak check.
And so they'll hold their breath, you know,
even just their heartbeat could potentially make
some differences in those super sensitive sensors there.
So you can see the red and blue valves there,
the air in and air out, and it looks like
Victor just had a good leak check.
Yeah, and actually they do three leak checks again just to get an average reading to say hey
You know we have confidence that these suits are holding the right pressure as Nicole said that too that's going in
That's putting air into their suits
And then there was that gold instrument that you saw on their other side
That's how they can control how much pressure is being released in order to do these checks
Yep, and they will do the leak checks here in the suit room
And then they'll do more actually in the capsule as well
they'll be doing another leak check.
So we're gonna make sure the suits are ready to go
before we even step out the door
and then we'll check them with the entire system
on the capsule once they get out to the rocket.
And you might also notice that some of the astronauts
while they're doing their suit leak checks,
you might've seen Victor gave an okay sign.
You might also see a thumbs up
and that's because concurrently
while they're doing these suit leak checks,
they're also doing com checks.
Yes, yeah, we talked about the com cap earlier
and the umbilical and how they plug in.
So yeah, they're going to test the calm,
they're going to test the suit,
make sure everything,
they're actually probably testing
the cooling system as well right now.
You know, they're going to plug into
the portable cooling system
and make sure that all of that is working.
So we, like I said,
we want to make sure we've got four healthy suits
before we go out.
Yeah, this suit, three layers.
So obviously it can get hot.
Yes.
So one of the layers is a cooling undergarment
and basically they flow cold liquid
through that undergarment
to keep the astronauts cool and comfortable
before lift-off today.
Yeah, it's like a onesie with a bunch of tubes
running around it, and the water flows through there
to cool you down.
All right, lots of information to share with you all today.
If you have any questions, we'd love to hear from you.
All you have to do is send your questions our way
by tagging at NASA Artemis,
and we'll try to answer as many of your questions live.
And we'll also have some questions for you
throughout the broadcast.
So we hope you can participate,
And those are opportunities as well.
OK, as we continue to be inside the pseudo room here,
why don't we learn a little bit about each of our crew members?
Right now, we are looking at pilot Victor Glover.
But hopefully, we can get a shot here of our commander,
Reed Wiseman.
Now, Reed Wiseman is a Baltimore native.
He's been in space once before.
as Flight Engineer for Expedition 41 aboard the International Space Station
from May through November 2014.
During the 165-day mission, Reed and his crewmates completed get this.
More than 300 science experiments in areas like human physiology, medicine,
physical science, earth science, and also astrophysics.
They actually set a milestone for station science by completing a record 82 research
hours in a single week.
He also served as Chief of NASA's Astronaut Office
from December 2020 to November 2022,
and Reed has two daughters.
Yeah, I love, Reed is such a great leader.
He was the Chief of the Astronaut Office
when they hired our class of astronauts.
So, I think I have to publicly thank him
for my job here today, but yeah, he's a family man,
he's a good leader, and he's a great pick
for the commander of this mission.
Yeah, I think, in talking through
some of his other accomplishments.
Obviously, he has leadership qualities
that makes him prepared for Commander of Artemis too.
Yes, yes he does.
He's a well-experienced naval officer
and now NASA astronaut.
And so now here we are, pilot Victor Glover.
NASA selected the California native
as an astronaut in 2013.
At the time, he was actually serving
as a legislative fellow in the United States Senate.
His first trip to space was in November 2020 when he launched as pilot of NASA's SpaceX
Crew-1 mission that was the first operational mission of NASA's Commercial Crew Program,
which resumed launching American rockets from American soil to the International Space Station
at the end of the shuttle program.
Victor is a U.S. Navy captain and naval aviator who served as a test pilot, racking up more
than 3,500 flight hours in more than 40 different aircraft.
He and his wife, Deanna, have four children.
Yeah, four children, a lot of energy.
But that checks, right?
Because when I think of Victor Gliber,
I think of a lot of energy.
Smart guy who's always excited and ready to go.
And there you go.
He's smiling in the suit for him this morning.
Oh, yeah.
He's a great guy.
All of them are.
This whole entire crew, they're just
a good group of human beings, of leaders, of friends, family.
I have never heard anybody say anything bad about any
of these four.
They're also well accomplished and they're also deserving of this opportunity to return to them.
Yeah, and they're also humble, right? They're just just standard humans going to the moon,
but you would never know that when you talk to them in a normal conversation.
And so it looks like Christina here has completed her suit leak checks as well, her communication checks too.
If they've already got her gloves off, they're getting ready to kind of hang out and relax a
a little bit, I think, before they walk out.
She is a mission specialist for this mission,
native of Grand Rapids, Michigan,
was selected to the astronaut corps in 2013,
so actually same class as Victor.
She served as flight engineer on the International Space
Station from March 2019 to February 2020.
And during that time, Cook set a record
for the longest single-space flight
by a woman with a total of 328 consecutive days in space.
She also participated in the first ever all-female space
walk.
And before becoming an astronaut,
Christina helped build space science instruments
and led scientific field work in some
of the most remote environments on the planet.
Her hobbies include surfing, rock climbing, community
service, yoga travel, and photography.
Again, so much.
When does she find the time?
That's a great question.
One of the things I love about Christina is that she's broken records and she's achieved
all these milestones.
But one of the things that she talks about is, you know, she just wants people to set
goals and go work hard and do something that's meaningful to you and she really hopes that
her records are broken as soon as possible.
She does it for her family and she'll talk about all of her nieces and nephews quite
a bit.
So just again, another example of just a humble human who's got a great support system in
her family and excited for the mission.
Yeah, she's always saying that she just wants the opportunity to push people farther to push humanity farther see what we can accomplish together. So yeah, again, all four of them say that they're really in tune on what they think they're or what they feel like their role is in this mission.
Yeah, I think their legacy is going to be, you know, providing the shoulders for for others to climb on.
And last but not least, first-time flyer Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will
fly to the moon as a mission specialist on the Artemis II mission.
The London, Ontario native was selected as an astronaut in 2009.
After that, he worked as CAPCOM at NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston.
CAPCOM stands for Capsule Communicator, and that's the sole direct voice communicating
with astronauts in space.
He also participated in training exercises, such as living on the ocean floor off the
coast of Florida to simulate deep space exploration for seven days.
In 2017, he became the first Canadian to lead a NASA astronaut class.
He also enjoys getting out on a sailboat, rock climbing, and mountain biking.
Jeremy and his wife, Catherine, have three children, and he actually got to hang out
with them over the weekend.
So the crew arrived here for launch at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, and then their family
members arrived Saturday.
Yes, as long as our family can quarantine with them, then they will stay quarantined
in Houston and then they all fly down to Kennedy Space Center and then you get to spend the
last few days with your close family and friends.
We actually do a behind the glass visit with some of those other maybe extended family members
that couldn't quarantine with you, but yeah, it's a quaint time here once you get to Kennedy
Space Center.
A great sign here, all four astronauts have removed their helmets and that indicates again
that all four have completed suit and leak checks and so Nicole what they're
doing now is they have these pockets on their forearm is that that's just
somewhere where they can put personal items that they might want right yeah
just kind of storage pockets you know there's always something that you might
need or want while you're in the capsule and then also last-minute personal
items if you want to put a couple things in there so everybody kind of has their
unique stash in their pockets. And then another pocket has emergency
equipment that they might need right like a signaling mirror things like that.
Right yeah the suit is basically all in one you know it's got the oxygen bottles
there on their right legs you'll see in a different shot they've got pockets with
survival gear in it and that is to keep them safe so if they had to egress the
capsule either from the lunch pad or from the water then they will have all of
the survival gear. With them they'll have about 10 minutes of oxygen as well from that bottle so
that they can get to safety quickly and safely. We are now five hours three minutes and counting
from the opening of our two hour launch window and we have our first questions from social media.
Question here from X, so to be clear, this is not a mission to land, but to orbit the moon.
Thank you and thank our astronauts.
Nicole?
Yeah, this is a great question, you know, I think it's important to highlight the mission
of Artemis II where we are going to go around the moon.
We're going to see the far side of the moon.
We're going to see parts of the far side of the moon that human eyes have never seen before.
It's very similar to the Apollo 8 mission, right?
We're also potentially going to be able to see the landing sites
for the future Artemis missions and kind of provide
the overall context of those landing sites
amongst the entire moon site there.
So it's an exciting mission.
We'll get to learn a ton about, you know,
there's so much science that's going
to be on this mission as well, right?
We're going to do some science experiments on humans,
learn about the stress of the environment,
and we're going to learn about the radiation environment.
We're going to learn about the suits as well.
We've got some technology demonstrations that are going to happen.
So there's a lot going on on this mission as we fly around the moon and come back.
We always say it's about increments, right?
Like we're making that next giant leap to Mars, but in order to do that safely
and to do that thoroughly, incremental steps.
Exactly.
And, you know, like we said, this is the first time that we've put crew on this
rocket.
And so actually before we even head to the moon, right, we're going to stay close
to the earth and we're going to check out all of the systems on Orion, make sure
that it can handle four humans, make sure it can handle people sleeping,
people exercising, you know, all of the environmental control systems are working.
So we want to make sure that the capsule is safe for the crew before we send them,
you know, almost 250,000 miles away.
Yeah, that was a great question.
And we actually have another one that we'll pull up on screen here.
Another question from X, how long will it take them to reach the moon
and how long will the entire mission last?
Another great question, right?
So they're gonna do a couple orbits around the Earth.
They'll do a perigee and an apogee raise burn.
What that means is that they're gonna accelerate
to get further away from the Earth
and they'll get into a really highly elliptical orbit first.
And then once they get into the translunar injection,
so they're actually in a free return trajectory,
which means we're gonna accelerate them
and then they're gonna escape Earth's gravity
and then just based on orbital mechanics,
they'll be able to come home without having to do
another burn or acceleration.
So it'll take about four days once they leave Earth's gravity
to get to the moon.
They'll fly around the moon about four days back.
And then land.
So overall, about a 10-day mission.
Exactly.
Yeah, these are really great questions, guys.
We know that, again, we are sharing a lot of information today.
So please do not hesitate to reach out.
Obviously, Nicole, very smart here.
And we're happy to answer any of your questions.
Again, tag at NASA Artemis wherever you're watching this coverage.
And now, we actually have a question for you.
Who would you take with you on a trip around the moon?
Would it be your bestie?
Would it be a pet, family member, or a seasoned astronaut?
Think about that one.
I know.
I like that.
I absolutely know what I would say.
I think it would make my husband upset.
But I have my answer here.
But we'd love for you to go to NASA's Instagram
or Twitch accounts to vote again.
Who would you take to the moon with you,
Bestie, Pet, Family, or Seasoned Astronaut?
Try to go vote, and then we will share your answers soon.
Again, husband is not going to like my answer.
And we're not the only ones with questions today.
We will also hear from celebrities
during our launch coverage.
See what Stanley Tucci, Scarlett Johansson, and others
want to know about NASA's Artemis II test flight.
Plus the surprise of a lifetime as kids marveled
at the rocket and spacecraft rolling to the launch pad.
Look at those cute faces there.
Oh, I love that, love those suits.
And we'll show you how the astronauts will eat, sleep,
and go to the bathroom while in space.
Keep in mind, the Orion spacecraft is about the size
of a six-person tent.
Yeah, not super big, but, you know,
it's 10 days with your three best friends.
So I think it's manageable for sure.
But, you know, every ounce counts
when you're trying to get to the moon.
And as we continue to look into the suit up room here,
a fist pump for some of the folks in the crowd there
by Victor, why don't we take a look around the center here?
We know that there are some folks who are ready,
getting ready to check out the team here
as they drive across KSC to their launch pad.
Look at that.
Oh, that's so awesome.
That's a great crowd.
They're waiting there in front
of the vehicle assembly building.
So actually they're just down the road from us.
This is a good crowd, as Nicole said.
Oh, there they are.
They just got their cue.
Oh, now?
Oh, now?
Let me wave now.
Oh, yeah.
They are excited.
That's amazing.
So all of these folks, content creators
that are getting behind the scenes access as part
of NASA's social experience here.
So, as you can see, very excited.
The crew will get into their convoy and drive past them here pretty shortly.
Yeah, well, another amazing way to share the Artemis story, right,
by inviting these social media experts out to share the story as they drive by.
All right, again, let's take a look at the clock.
Four hours, 58 minutes and counting from the opening of today's two-hour launch window.
So, why don't we check back in with Darryl with the launch team?
Megan and Nicole and inside Fire Room 1.
I'm listening to launch director Charlie Blackwell Thompson
greet the ascent crew who just came on console over there
at Johnson Space Center.
So good to have the mission control team jumping on with us.
So far the launch team here in the firing room
has had a really good morning.
Really smooth tanking that kicked off at 7.30 AM
this morning.
They got to all stages replenish just before one
o'clock p.m. Eastern time and it was an incredibly smooth
tanking. That's great as we look here watching the crew and
also with an eye on the rocket. Weather, of course, we've talked a little bit
about that. It's favorable overall. 80% go for our
two-hour window between 6.24 p.m. and 8.24 p.m.
We don't have an exact T-zero right now because that's going to come to us
closer when we get closer to launch, roughly about 20 minutes before liftoff, but it's
going to be within that window.
And towards the beginning, provided everything continues to go smoothly along the timeline,
and so far, that's been the case.
I mentioned that there was a small issue in my previous live hit that actually was incorrect.
There was no issue.
I've gotten the good data now that I'm on the headset and listening into the loops.
avionics engineers are keeping an eye on a display unit inside Orion that's just running
a little cooler than normal. It's not going out of limit. It's actually completely fine.
But they just were noting the trend and reported that to the NASA test director. So they'll
keep their eyes on that. But again, there was no LCC violation. And once they get the
cover off Orion out there that's protecting it from the rain, they expect the temperatures
inside the Orion crew capsule to stabilize and with that we'll send it
back to the hostess with Megan and Nicole. Thank you so much Darrell. Now Darrell is
inside firing room one in the Launch Control Center or LCC as you might hear
it referred to which was built in 1967 to support Apollo missions. In fact Apollo
11 the mission that lands it on the moon in 1969 that was called from the exact
same firing room. NASA then upgraded the LCC to support shuttle missions and now Artemis.
You can see there a shot from when we supported shuttle.
Now with Artemis the primary launch team for today is in firing room one but there is actually
support staff in firing room two as well and together they will propel this ambitious test
flight off Earth.
We're going back to the moon because it's the next step in our journey to Mars.
We need to go explore the moon. There's vast regions of unexplored areas with the coldest,
darkest places in our solar system.
This is a test mission.
And when we get off the planet, we might come right back home.
We might spend three or four days around Earth.
We might go to the moon.
That's where we want to go.
But it is a test mission, and we are ready for every scenario as we ride this amazing
space launch system in the Orion spacecraft.
But another reason we're going back to the moon is to fulfill NASA's mission, which is
to explore the unknown in air and space, to innovate for the benefit of humanity, and
to inspire the world through discovery.
And when we succeed and when we accomplish the things
that we set out to accomplish,
that inspiration not only can set up new things to happen,
but it also is a reminder in tough times
that we're capable of doing great things
when we work together.
The thing I love about the moon
is that it's not just a beacon for exploration
and this platform of possibilities
for incredible missions like this,
but it has benefits.
That's actually why we're racing towards it.
Those benefits are really wide in nature.
You have everything from innovation, technology development,
and not only for future missions going deeper
into the solar system.
The technology is to come back to Earth.
You have inspiration, a whole generation of people
starting this pipeline of STEM workers and manufacturers
and operators that are excited to see what you can do
when you work hard and you come together as a team.
When I think about the four of us flying around the far side
of the moon, seeing that Earth rise, taking images and video
and sending them back to you.
The feeling that I have inside is hope.
We know that Artemis II is not the solution
for humanity on planet Earth,
but it is a contribution in the positive column.
We hope that just for a moment,
the people will pause and say,
wow, it's extraordinary when you look back upon the Earth
with over eight billion people.
And you see this concrete example
of what humanity can do,
this extraordinary thing when we set big goals
and we work together to achieve.
Now, Kennedy's launch control team takes us to lift off, but then mission control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston takes over.
That's where we have our Gary Jordan embedded with that team. Hey, Gary.
Hey, Megan and Nicole, it's great to be joining you from here in Houston, Texas.
I'm in NASA's Mission Control Center, where the Artemis II Ascent Flight Control Teams, led by Flight Director Judd Freeling,
recently started their shift to monitor the Orion spacecraft integrity, the
space launch system and the crew to make sure all criteria is met to commit to
today's launch and the mission ahead. The team you see here in this room today
has been training extensively to prepare for the highly dynamic phase of
flight that begins shortly after engine ignition. Teams here will be monitoring
the flight of the space launch system Orion and of course the Artemis-2 crew
onboard as they make their way from the Kennedy Space Center into Earth orbit.
The lead console positions will be in this room called the White Flight Control
Room, a room which traces its legacy to the space shuttle program with the first
shifts supporting STS-70 in 1995, more than 30 years ago. Each console
represents an expert in a particular discipline, whether it be communications,
propulsion, crew health, life support systems, or trajectory, and each of these
individuals has a support team in other rooms, each ensuring that no data point is left unchecked,
no procedure is missed, and combining efforts as one Artemis team to ensure crew safety and
mission success. After liftoff, Mission Control Houston will be staffed around the clock over
the next 10 days until the spacecraft is saved for the recovery teams and the crew is extracted
from integrity and brought aboard the recovery vessel. The roar of a powerful space launch system
lift off is just the beginning. The mission is of course a test mission and the first with humans
on board Ryan and in deep space. The crew's job is to put the systems and capabilities of Ryan to
the test taking us closer to a sustained presence on the lunar surface. It's great to see the crew
gathered around the table. Megan with that will toss it back to you as we continue to monitor
from here in Mission Control Houston. Back to you. Thank you so much Gary. Yes a pre-flight
that we have seen with our crewed flights and our astronauts the card game.
Yeah, you know this is a fun time for the crew kind of relax a little bit play a card game with the chief.
You can see Scott Tingle there is the the dealer today. Looks like they're playing high card wins.
So Victor won. He's out. Now Jeremy's out. You know there are two schools of thought on this game.
Either you want to get rid of all your bad luck or go out on a high note.
It looks like the career shows were going out on a high note.
And I think one of my favorite parts
when I talked to Reid about this is he was just
excited to play a game with his old boss from Naval Test
Pilot School.
So once again, his boss today.
Yeah.
And I love this part of the tradition
because this is fun.
Again, you usually see them laughing, but very focused still.
But when they get to this table, laughs, high-five, smiles,
just really a brief moment of levity
in what can be and will be a very long day for them.
Yes, you know, it's a long day.
There's a lot of preparation that goes in today.
And so they're just, I think for, at least for us,
it was a nice brief moment of some relaxation,
a couple of laughs, you know,
moments to take a few deep breaths
and reflect on the mission ahead.
And then, you know, get some high fives as well.
And so with their bad luck dispelled,
some good luck from Scott Tingler.
Well, it seemed like they're right.
Yes, definitely.
It's actually a really fun tradition here.
I think that card game is more steeped in tradition
than anything else every crew has played
to that same card game.
As you said, Nicole, the primary reason
for why they're there to suit up,
to do communications checks, to do pressure checks all done.
And now it seems like Reed had some words
for the team in that room.
Yeah, you know, this this day can't happen without thousands of people, right?
And so the suit room is a great example of that.
You've got all of these, the suit tax and you've got your support team there.
Everyone who has made this day possible, you know, they've been working with the suit,
suit team for, for years at this point, getting ready.
So some fist bumps to the group.
Again, the suit team are the folks dressed up in those white,
Very snazzy outfits.
Special outfits that we can talk a little bit more about later.
But each crew member was assigned their own suit technician.
So as you said, working very closely with the same person to make sure that the crew felt comfortable and ready in these suits as they left off from Kennedy Space Center.
Right.
And you know, each suit is slightly different.
Each person is slightly different.
and it's slightly different.
And so these suit techs know each individual super well.
They know exactly how they like to get into the suit,
exactly where things might get caught,
or small adjustments that might need to be made.
So they know their suit techs well,
and their suit techs know them very well.
And so as we take a couple of pictures here,
we really hope that you are learning a lot about the suits
and the process of checking them out for a mission.
But imagine the opportunity to get a hands-on demonstration
from people who helped design these seats.
Take a look.
Anyone want to try on one of the gloves?
I love showing the kids the suit.
I love how excited they get about space.
Oh, so that would be.
It just goes in there.
We got to bring some stuff for them
to actually put their hands in.
And some of them are very excited
because they want to be asked us when they grow up.
I would love to be natural.
That would be incredible.
I'd like to be a little more that maybe designs the suits.
Whether it's the calm, the orange color,
every aspect has an important function
through our astronauts in space.
Many astronauts will go to the moon again.
And that was a special event at Johnson Space Center.
What we just saw there, obviously,
a big part of why this mission is so important to NASA,
really just an opportunity to inspire everyone, especially kids, right?
Nicole, to dream big and be curious.
Oh, man, yeah, the kids are so important.
Ren, I love talking to kids, you know, they are the future of spaceflight.
They are the Artemis generation.
And, you know, if we could just inspire even one of them to go on to be a
scientist or an engineer or maybe even astronaut someday, that's a win.
And now let's turn our focus to the rocket for a little bit.
Powering lift off will be, again, NASA's Space Launch System rocket right behind us.
And to learn more about SLS, let's go to Megan Carter, who's at Kennedy Space Center's
visitor complex at an exhibit dedicated to Artemis and the future of spaceflight.
That's right, Megan.
I am so excited to be over here at the Visitor Center, but not just because of launch.
I get to introduce you to the Moonboard.
This is obviously a very complex mission, lots of moving parts and pieces.
So the Moonboard is going to allow me to break some of those things down for you just a little
bit more in depth starting with that SLS rocket. Now the SLS or the space launch
system very big very powerful it is going to be producing 8.8 million
pounds of thrust at launch and like I mentioned very large as you can see here
gonna stand about 322 feet tall with a riot there on top just a little bit
taller than the Statue of Liberty. Now there are many components that make up
this rocket so I'm gonna point out just a handful that you're gonna hear about a
a lot throughout this broadcast,
starting with our boosters.
These two twin solid rocket boosters
are going to be very powerful.
They are going to burn for the first
two and a half minutes of flight,
and each one is going to stand 17 stories tall.
They weigh in at about 1.6 million pounds each.
Now, I am going to jump back out,
and I'm going to show you a little bit
about our core stage.
That's going to be known as the backbone,
essentially, of our rocket,
and it is made up of around five components,
starting with this engine section down here.
This engine section is where our two propellants
are going to be funneled down through our pipelines
and they are going to be mixed
at two different temperatures, very complex processing,
and they are then going to go on to feed that fuel
to our four very powerful RS-25 engines.
These are gonna produce about half a million pounds
of thrust each at launch,
and they will burn for eight minutes.
All right, now jumping up here,
we are going to take a look
because I just mentioned those propellants.
Obviously we do need fuel.
And that is why we have around 535,000 gallons
of that liquid hydrogen.
That's approximately about the same amount
that you could fill in a Olympic-sized pool
just to give you an idea.
And then we're also gonna have that liquid oxygen.
And like I mentioned,
there's gonna be about 200,000 gallons for that one.
And they are gonna be funneled down
through those lines that you see here on the side.
All right, jumping up real quick,
this is going to be our upper stage.
That is where our core avionics are going to be stored,
essentially the brains of the spacecraft.
And then jumping out super quick,
let's see if we can zoom in here and we can.
Those propellants I talked about
are going to be stored at cryogenic temperatures.
That means thousands of degrees below Fahrenheit.
So they have to be kept very cold.
And that, all those bumps and ridges there that you see,
those are actually going to be an insulation spray
that's going to help keep that rocket nice and cool,
keep the propellants ready to go
and get us set up for success.
Now, obviously that was a very quick overview of our rocket.
I have so much more to show you here on the moon board,
but for now, I'm gonna turn it back over to you, Megan.
Thank you, Megan, a very impressive demo of the moon board,
but also an impressive system, obviously.
She mentioned four RS-25 engines on the core stage,
and actually we have one right behind us here,
used during the shuttle program,
and I got to get a closer look at it
with Space Launch Systems Engine's
Deputy Manager Philip Benefield.
Okay, so Philip, in terms of size, shape, and function,
will we see here behind us exactly what we see on the pad?
Absolutely, Megan, absolutely.
So this is the RS-25 engine.
Impressive.
We have four of these on the bottom of the SLS rocket
to propel the SLS rocket in Orion into the North orbit.
And we've been seeing views of the pad
throughout this broadcast,
but you mostly only see the bell here.
What's happening over here?
Right, so this is generally what we call
powerhead section of the engine. So the purpose here is that it takes in the
propellants from the vehicle tanks. The liquid oxygen in minus 297 degrees super
cold stuff. The liquid hydrogen even colder minus 423 Fahrenheit. There's
four turbo pumps on the engine that pressurize that propellant up to up to
9000 psi in areas. It is all directed into the main combustion chamber where
it is burned into hot gas that then is accelerated out the nozzle to produce
when you say hot gas, what are we talking about? We're talking 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit gas. Wow, so we're talking really cold as liquids coming into the combustion chamber and then it comes out and really, really hot gas. How do you design? How do you engineer something to control both extremists? Absolutely, it's a very technically challenging.
One of the main things here with the nozzle is that since you have the 6000 degree Fahrenheit
gas coming out, you have to cool that nozzle so it doesn't melt.
And so the way the nozzle is constructed with these 1080 cooling tubes.
And so each of these cooling tubes flows a small amount of hydrogen.
It keeps it cold.
And so it doesn't melt during operation.
Wow.
I mean, all of the science that you're talking about, it is truly amazing that you guys designed
this for shuttle and yet you reconfigured it and retooled it.
be able to now support Artemis. What do you think about that? Yeah, I think that's really amazing
the fact that we were able to use the heritage hardware on the space launch system. The engine
itself developed through the space shuttle program, many, many upgrades to make it more reliable
and improve the thrust as well. Perfect. Philip, thank you so much. I can't wait to see all four
functions. Same here. Thanks, Megan. Enjoyed it. And again, another idea and way that we are learning
from what we've built upon and figured out all into this moment.
Yes, with so much more thrust and capability, like we said,
we've learned all those lessons from previous missions
and we get to involve them here today.
And here we are, the closeout crew in the white room getting ready
for the astronauts who have just left crew suit up
and are now walking down a hallway
to greet some family and friends downstairs.
Commander Reed Weisman, pilot Victor Glover,
Mission Specialist Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen looking excited ready now in that elevator to
take them three floors down thumbs up one more photo one more photo oh no a couple more people
in that elevator those are important folks they're going with them to the pad
I read this is a fun elevator right yeah
and you know actually you couldn't see them because they're off camera but the support crew
that's actually in crew quarters with us is right there waving goodbye and saying goodbye to you.
So it's a really special moment to say thank you and say goodbye to the
support crew at crew quarters. That's amazing. And so again they will ride down three floors
and then soon we'll walk out the doors that you see underneath the banner there that says their names.
These doors, the same doors that astronauts who have launched
from Kennedy Space Center have walked out of since the Apollo Program.
Yes, and you can see another tradition is putting your patch
on that archway as well.
So I'm sure they did that over the last couple of days.
They did.
It's actually the, it's so hard to see because there's so many
of them which is also great.
but it's on the door frame on the right-hand side, the very, very bottom.
Great crowd here, a shot now of everyone who was waiting to
greet the crew as they walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building here at Kennedy Space Center
and will board their ride to the launch pad.
Yeah, this is a really great shot, right, because you get to see a little bit of what goes on there.
So you've got the close family that we're in quarantine with them up close.
They get a wave goodbye one last time.
You've got a little bit of media in the background and then you've got some NASA employees.
And a lot of the program managers off to the side as well to wave goodbye one last time
and wish them luck.
Yeah, it's a really nice moment.
Again, they have had some quality time with family.
But this is their final opportunity to say, see you in 10 days.
Yeah, the last wave.
And so there are different pens of people, again,
as Nicole was alluding to, specific to the quarantine rules
that you followed in order to be able to have that access,
have that closeness with the crew.
And then on the bottom left-hand side of your screen,
the AstroVam, and that is going to be the crews right
out to the launch pad.
This modified Airstream motorhome can seat up to eight people inside.
It has a TV and sound system and we know they plan to watch a video during their trip out, right, Nicole?
Yes. I think Top Gun is on the menu.
Yes.
And also Point Break because, you know, Christina serves.
So I think they've got a pretty decent entertainment planned.
I love that. It gets them in the headspace, the right headspace to really just
Enjoy the ride to space.
NASA's history with Airstream dates back to the 60s
when the company created a crew quarantine vehicle
for when astronauts returned from the moon.
This picture here, President Nixon talking to the Apollo 11 astronauts
inside said quarantine vehicle.
Then during the shuttle program,
Airstream created the first-generation Astrovan,
a 27-foot motorhome that transported astronauts
across KSC to the launch pad.
And again, that is what we're gonna see today.
A very similar picture.
Again, the orange suits, the Astrovan,
very reminiscent of what we have done before
and how we got to where we are now.
Yeah, it's a pretty cool ride.
You know, you get about 20 minutes
to get out to the launch pad
and watch a movie, listen to some music.
It's kind of an interesting, you know,
and then along the whole way here at KSC,
all of the employees from Kennedy Space Center come out.
You can see in the background of the shot
you're looking at right now,
all of those employees and everybody lining the streets,
waving and wishing them luck.
I think this is an emotional moment for a lot of people
because this is the last time where a lot of people
will be with the crew because once they get to the pad,
there's only a handful of folks with them before launch.
Yeah, definitely.
This can be emotional for the crew.
It can be emotional for the families, of course.
I mean, I got to wave goodbye one last time to my sister
and when we walked out those doors and yes, it's surreal.
You know, it starts to become much more real
the closer and closer you get to the launch pad.
20 seconds now for when we expect the crew
to walk out those doors.
It must be really hard for them to patiently wait
for these very specific milestones.
You've got a whole group back there
that's telling jokes and keeping it light.
And here they are, NASA's Artemis II crew, Commander Reed Weissman, pilot Victor Glover
and mission specialist Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen taking their first steps outside
for their historic test flight.
To a wonderful applause from the crowd, they're looking really excited.
Some big smiles.
I love that.
Great day for us.
Great day for the team.
A few words from Reid.
Great day for us, the team, he said.
Thumbs up.
More thumbs up.
Of course, a lot of pictures.
We hear some camera shutter clicks back there.
Let's go!
I love the energy of the crowd.
Let's go!
And so now the crew walking over to each of their pens.
The first people closest to them,
of course, they're family members
who got to quarantine with them, correct?
Yes, yeah, so the ones that are close and waving,
those are the immediate family,
so spouses, partners, kids.
And we're trying to give them some privacy
so that they can have their conversations
with their family members.
Christina there, she has her husband.
Victor has four daughters and his wife, they're there.
Reed, his two daughters are there.
And then Jeremy, his wife, two daughters and a son.
You know, when you were standing in their shoes,
they called when you flew for Croton.
What were you kind of talking about?
Like, did you really think about this moment
and what you might want to say?
You know, they've all already done their real goodbyes,
you know, in person.
And so this is more just kind of, again,
that last chance to wave, last chance to get one smile.
You know, you see Christina there smiling.
So this felt much less heavy and just, you know, waving
and maybe cracking a joke or something saying hi.
So this was a really, really great moment for our crew.
Reed's two daughters there.
Reed spoke about when he told them
that he was selected to be the Artemis II commander.
And he said he was worried he's a single dad,
didn't know how they would react.
And actually he said he was overwhelmed by their support.
He woke up the next morning with cupcakes
baked by by one of the daughter's moon cup. Yes, I love this story. Moon cupcakes
the next morning. Like how awesome is that, right? Everybody needs their support
system and clearly he has that in his daughters. Christina said she took a
bike ride with her husband and wanted to tell him when the moon rose, but then it
was too foggy. But she said he was still very excited and happy for her. Yeah,
the moon's still out there.
A close-up now of again commander Reed Wiseman
and mission specialist Christina Cook.
To the right-ears screen as we pan left we have pilot Victor Glover.
Victor told his wife and they told their four kids together and he said that one
of them just started yelling let's go!
I love that again. The support from the family is awesome.
And Jeremy said his wife and three children super excited.
He felt very supported.
You know, he did have that tough conversation,
obviously, of talking about the realities of this being a test flight,
but he said they were super supportive.
And now as he walks away, some kisses from Victor Glover to his family,
Hearts to Christina, Jeremy being a gentleman,
pausing so that Christina can take a nice photo without him.
Hearts to from Reed there.
Hearing Victor saying, love you guys,
saying that to some of his crew members there, Woody.
Some more applause from the group.
quick wave to some of the NASA program managers and I think
North Nights out there, the FOD Flight Operations Director.
Director.
You heard Reid there saying thank you guys as the crowd picks up again with their applause
and the four of them step into their astro van.
at the clock, very on schedule right now.
Again, according to the very detailed timeline of launch today,
they're expected to drive off in about 20 seconds.
So far, we're marching toward the launch smoothly.
Do you think they're queuing up the video?
Definitely.
And that's why they haven't left yet.
They're like, we can't go without our point break.
Where's the popcorn?
Again, good on the timeline.
Of course, they do have these very specific milestones,
but this is not one that has to be completely stuck to
the second of the minute.
Yeah, we will.
We will make up that time easily.
They will get a full security escort and ride
out to the launch pad. It's a quick trip, 15-20 minutes.
The closeout crew at the pad, still just getting everything ready
for their arrival configuring Orion right Nicole yes so they're probably laying
out the seat restraints and getting out all the umbilical set and ready to go
so that when the crew gets there they can ingress and start getting strapped
in and connected to the capsule and in our smaller box there we have a shot of
of our administrator, Jared Isaacman.
Bouncing around quite a lot today.
Was in the firing room right after the crew weather brief
saying to the crew that they are good for them
to start suiting up and now here to wish them well
as they drive out to the pad.
Yes, he's so invested in this mission.
I love it.
You know, he's been an active participant today
and exciting to see him there at the walkout.
So, in the van they're probably getting hooked up to the portable cooling systems as well,
so that's probably, that would be my guess on the slight delay here, making sure everybody's
situated, connected to cooling and ready to go before they take off.
Right, because the orange boxes, we didn't talk about it when we were in the suit up
But if anybody noticed, there are these orange boxes,
and that's what provides the cooling
to those thermal garments.
And so those boxes have been staged inside of the AstroVan
so that once they got there, they can connect up, again,
so that they're cool and comfortable on the way out.
Right, so they were off-cooling from the walkout,
said hello to their families,
and the 80-degree weather here in Florida today,
so I can get really warm in the suit quickly
if you're not careful, so I want to make sure
everybody's comfortable before we drive off.
And then when they get to the pad, of course, and strapped into Orion, then they don't have
any need for those cooling boxes anymore.
They will get that cooling through Orion, through the different lines and umbilicals
that they'll be connected to there.
Yep, that's exactly right.
The Orion capsule and its environmental control system will take over once they're connected
to the umbilical.
And so when we were watching them get into the elevator, I said, oh, there's a couple
more people going in there.
And they were, again, those folks in the white suits that we saw, again, suit technicians.
And off they go.
Read Victor, Christina, and Jeremy now on their way to launch pad 39B, where they will
fly to the moon, something no human has done in over 50 years.
They may also set a new record as the farthest humans have ever been from Earth, a record
set by the Apollo 13 crew almost 56 years ago today.
We still hear cheers as they drive away from the operations and checkout building here
at Kennedy Space Center.
Now while the crew make their way to the pad, let's get to know each of them even better.
Commander Reed Wiseman.
The moon to me, it's the thing that connects me together with all the other humans in my
life.
I remember being a little kid lying in bed at night and just looking out at the moon
and whatever phase it was in, I was thinking, man, my friends that live like 20 miles away,
they can probably look out and see that same exact moon.
And then when I was in the Navy and I would look out at the moon and I'd be halfway around
the planet, I would think, man, my brother can see that moon where he is and he's halfway
around the planet from where I am.
To me, it's a connection of life on Earth.
We can all look up and see that moon,
and it's always changing.
The moon is never the same two days in a row.
I love that.
My name is Reed Wiseman.
I'm the commander of NASA's Artemis II mission
around the moon.
I grew up in a little town just north of Baltimore, Maryland,
about 20 miles north of the city.
There was a National Guard base nearby my house,
and there were A-10 aircraft that would fly over
every now and then.
I just would look up at them and be like,
man, I want to be up there.
I want to go do that.
And then my brother went to the Naval Academy
and I would go every year and watch the Blue Angels fly
during commencement.
And that just started to grow and grow and grow.
For a while I wanted to join the Air Force
and then I realized Navy flies as well
and they fly from ships in the middle of the ocean.
And that was it, like, done deal for me.
That is exactly what I wanted to do for my crew.
Lying is freedom to me, especially when you're in a jet
aircraft coming off of an aircraft carrier
in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Near as land is over 1,500 miles away.
So when you come off of that aircraft carrier
you are truly just alone with yourself out there.
It is a magical experience to be out there all by yourself
in the aircraft over the Pacific.
Just, it's free.
I think anybody who accomplishes something
that they set their mind out to,
there's no one thing that does it for them.
It's a combination of everything.
I mean, the way my parents raised me,
the way my brother and I,
the way our relationship developed over time,
my friends being in the marching band,
going to college, setting my own course,
learning how to live on my own,
being mentored along the way,
being kept on the path to success,
but being given the freedom to make excursions
and fail every now and then and regroup and carry on.
I think all those things come together in the end
to get you where you are.
I've had to overcome, I mean, I'm a human being.
I've had to overcome a lot of fears.
I'm pretty scared of heights.
I joked about that on the International Space Station,
but it turns out I'm only scared
like at the edge of a building.
When you're up on the International Space Station,
even though you're 250 miles up,
I never had that feeling of falling
or that I was at risk up there.
I just kind of loved the feeling of floating
and looking down at her.
There have been challenges all throughout my life.
By far, the biggest challenge was losing my wife
in 2020 to cancer and now raising two daughters.
Who have grown up now?
But that's been the biggest challenge
by far I've ever had to face.
It is not easy being an only parent,
trying to work a full-time job and raising two kids
is something that I think about every single day.
I'm very proud of the work I've done.
I haven't always done it well,
but I've always shown up and tried to start as I possibly can.
And now Artemis II pilot Victor Glover
and his journey to this history-making moment.
I do wonder what it's gonna be like
when we are really far from Earth and can see it.
The sensation of being so far away
from everything that you know.
I had that sensation on the space station
the first time I got to sit in the cupola
for a really long time, so I can only imagine
what that's gonna be like from 200,000 plus miles away.
My name is Victor Glover,
and I'm the pilot for NASA's Artemis II mission
around the moon.
When I was in fourth grade, I was 10 years old,
and that's when the Challenger accident happened,
and it helped me understand how the general public
felt about the astronaut corps.
Right, like these are the people that we wanna be,
and that just gave me an easy thing to strive toward.
The biggest fear that I've had to overcome in my life
is doubting myself.
Going to college when no one in my family
had gone to college was a huge risk.
I had more confidence in my athletic ability
than in my academic abilities.
I could play football with those college students
that I saw on TV.
But my classmates that I saw in the lab
and around the university union,
I didn't know if I had what they had.
I think addressing that self-doubt was a part of,
you know, swinging for the fence
and trying to go get an engineering degree,
not just go to college, but get an engineering degree,
and then go do something challenging and technical,
like flying.
Apollo is known for sending humans to the moon.
Artemis has an opportunity to continue the Apollo story,
but I actually think it's important for this story
to stand on its own.
Artemis is a new program,
And we're trying to do new things.
And it's great to compare and contrast.
When you look at our spaceship,
you can see parts that were designed,
built, and integrated in another country.
When you look at our crew,
you see that our crew is international.
There are also men and women.
And I just think that that comparing and contrasting
makes the story even richer.
The piloting role specifically,
I will have an hour and a half or so
where I get to fly the spacecraft by hand.
We haven't flown that many spaceships.
And so the ability to fly one actually in space,
on a test mission, is just a really unique opportunity.
I can't tell you how I'm gonna feel
when we fly by the moon and see the moon up close
and the earth from a quarter of a million miles away,
but I don't use the word excited because I'm focused.
You know, what we do, this is very serious
and it's very risky and we are all intimately familiar
with that risk.
And so if we go out there and we're successful
and we can pass that baton on to Artemis III,
that's something to really be excited about.
Great to hear from Reed and Victor and their own words
about how they feel about this mission
and their role in it.
As the convoy turns this corner here
onto the road where the vehicle assembly building is
and where the group that we showed you earlier today,
ready with their flags.
Wow, that group has expanded exponentially.
Yes, this is great.
Yeah, so many people.
Flags, oh my gosh, I love it.
Oh, this must feel so special to the crew
to see all of these people here to wish them well.
Yes, this is heartwarming.
Look at how many people there are.
Everyone is so excited about this mission.
Signs, people have made signs.
I feel like the astro van has slowed down a little bit,
you know, to really take in the moment.
Wow.
That's amazing there again crowds continue going going going as we are now passing the historic vehicle assembly building
This is where the Space Launch System rocket was assembled and stacked with Orion
This history of course goes back to the Apollo days
But today it is home to the Artemis missions to the moon and beyond gosh still people lining the room. Yep
I love that.
I do too. It leaves me kind of speechless.
Yes.
Just to see all the support, all the people who want to know that they're thinking of
them, they're with them, and the fact that this crew specifically has always said we
are going for all by all, this must be really special to them.
Yes, and that's just here on Kennedy Space Center.
Imagine the rest of Florida right now.
Yeah.
Mission specialist Christina Cook, who holds the record for the most consecutive days in
space by a woman. Let's take a look at what she has to say about this mission.
I tell a story, which is one that my dad told me before the Apollo missions, and he was just a
very little boy. He was looking up at the moon with his mom, and his mom said to him,
don't worry, Ronnie, we'll never get there. Fast forward, maybe 70 years later, it's his
daughter that's actually going there. And I think that long arc is something that we can all learn
from. The idea that the seemingly impossible becomes possible if you just believe in it and are
willing to work hard and come together to achieve it. My name is Christina Cook and I'm a mission
specialist for NASA's Artemis II mission around the moon. When I look back and my dreams as a
I definitely never thought I would actually get here.
I was very pragmatic.
Even though I'm a dreamer,
I knew that the odds were way against me again.
So I might as well do something I'm loving in the meantime.
I definitely loved science and math in school
and, you know, did pretty well in those things,
but I also loved being active.
I was always outside.
I loved things that made me feel small.
I loved looking at the night sky,
oftentimes between the pine tree branches,
or I love the ocean.
North Carolina also has mountains,
and when we go there, I just love the vastness
of all of those things.
I loved how they made me feel
and what they made me think about
and the vastness of the universe
and how much out there there was to learn.
I'm drawn to exploring.
I'm drawn to challenges that involve
both mental and physical,
and I'd much rather be solving problems,
wearing a whole lot of equipment,
and in a harsh environment,
and that's just something I've cared with me
ever since I was a kid.
thinking about the fears or challenges that I've had to overcome there are just so many I mean basically it's just been that has been the journey I always say to people do what scares you and that means I have to follow my own advice so doing what scares
me meant getting on a plane and going to the Antarctic, getting on a plane and
going to study abroad in Ghana, applying to become an astronaut, opening the EVA
hatch in the airlock and going out of it into the darkness, strapping myself onto
a rocket. And so for me I think that no matter what the challenge, recognizing
that if people believe in you and you believe they believe in you, the
challenges seem always a little bit easier. To me the moon, it represents
history. It is a witness plate. Everything that's ever happened to the moon is still
written on the moon. Every single person has looked at the moon their entire
lives. We see the same moon. That's something really special. It's just the
epitome of a symbol of something that's in each of our hearts, but this also
represents exploration and reaching.
And as we continue to watch the convoy, almost at the pad, mission specialists and first-time
flyer, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
I have this very distinct memory of seeing an image of an astronaut standing on the moon.
It's burnt in my brain because I went back to it so many times in my childhood and I
look at that image and I know it had a huge impact on me that humans had walked on the
moon.
My name is Colonel Jeremy Hansen.
I'm an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency and I'm a mission specialist on NASA's
Artemis II mission around the moon.
My elementary school years I grew up on a farm outside of London, Ontario.
I spent as much time as I could with my dad on the farm.
I learned the value of hard work, for example.
If I wanted to go to work with dad it was going to be a long day and I was going to
have to not complain, or I wasn't going to get to go the next day.
I had a treehouse, I had a vivid imagination, and I changed my treehouse into a spaceship.
I made all these dials and controls.
I had circuit breakers for switches that I found in the barn, and I was exploring space
in my imagination.
The most important thing I did to get to where I wanted to go in life, which was flying
fighter jets and eventually becoming an astronaut, is I shared those desires with other people.
And it turns out, just like you don't go to the moon on your own, if you could, I would
have done it a long time ago in my tree house as a kid.
You have to go as a team.
I think the biggest impediment to achieving my goals was, of course, myself.
And I think that's a common human experience.
There are many times where this little things would get in my way, and my immediate interpretation
of that was, well, now that goal is out the window.
muscle lifted me back up and in somewhere in the back of my head that persistence came
through and I think that's a common human experience to doubt ourselves.
I've come to this, I guess, realization that I believe that we all have gifts to contribute
and the goal is to figure out how to use your energy towards adding positively to humanity's
existence on this planet.
I love it when humanity sets big goals like sending humans to the surface of the moon
with an eye to eventually going to Mars.
Because when we do that, we can bring together genius
from not just even in one country, but around the world.
I've also learned from my indigenous mentors
that they refer to the moon as grandmother moon.
So you've probably heard of Mother Earth
that use grandmother moon because grandmother moon
is responsible for the water in their community,
just like the moon moves the water around the planet,
affects the tides.
And I think that's a really beautiful thing
for us as we go back to the moon,
to think about all the different cultures around the world
and how they view the moon differently.
And that's really neat because we all share
that same moon in the night sky.
What's really neat too was that drive to the launch pad,
that point of view to see what the crew is seeing as well
as their aster van rides up the pad slope
and are now on the surface about to walk up to their vehicle.
Yeah, you know, we talked about how tall this rocket is earlier.
Wow.
Look at that.
Yeah, look at that point of view, yeah.
Pad 39B, another historic place here at Kennedy Space Center.
Construction began in 1964, finished three years later.
Apollo 10, the full dress rehearsal for the moon landing.
that was the first mission to launch from this pad.
Yeah, you know, we've used this pad for a lot of missions.
You know, we modified the pad in the 70s and 80s,
and then the shuttle missions actually launched
from here as well.
And then of course, Artemis-1 took off
from this launch pad, November 2022.
And now here we are about to see the Artemis-2 crew
get out of the Astrovan and make their way
up the mobile launcher to the 274-foot level
where they will embark on their first crewed test flight
of the Artemis program.
You know, I think that button in the elevator
actually says space.
It does?
Really?
At least on 39 outfit does.
So I imagine it says something similar here.
Again, let's take a look at the clock
as we wait for the crew to get out four hours,
10 minutes and counting
until the top of our two hour launch window today.
Let's head back across the street to Darrell
who's following the launch team every step of the way.
All right, thank you, Megan and Nicole.
And here inside firing room one,
we had a nice moment, the launch director,
Charlie Blackwell Thompson,
NASA's first female launch director,
standing up from her console,
taking her cell phone and snapping photos
as the Artemis True crew that she had just given the go
to leave the astronaut crew quarters, driving by
and of course, going up the causeway
until they got there to the pad.
And now we see them coming out of the Astro van there
and getting ready to ascend the launch tower.
Well, we got a weather brief before they went out to the pad
and of course LWO gave a go.
There could be some rain out there at the pad.
It's certainly, it's already rained out there already.
If you're in the area and you're watching right now,
well, certainly you know that there's some rain in the area.
There's gonna be spotty showers
that are gonna be coming ashore here.
And we expect that throughout our rest of our countdown,
But we also are getting forecasts that there'll be some clearing as we get closer to our launch window.
Big way for Reed Wiseman there, and a thumbs up as the crew goes into the elevator to ascend the launch tower
to go up to the level where they'll walk across the crew access arm and get into the white room.
One of the things that you're going to start to hear now is from the crew themselves.
We're going to be airing the Orion to Earth loop, which is the communications that's going
between that crew and the launch team here as they walk them through configuring their
various consoles as well as getting ready.
A nice moment here, and I'll just pause to just look and see as the crew walks across
the zero deck as they call it, which is the deck that's right there even with the engines
and they're taking a moment to go over there and stand up and gaze up at the 322-foot-tall
SLS rocket. This was part of the plan for the Artemis II crew and potentially a rocket
that could help them make history to go farther from Earth than any crew has before. The farthest
distance from Earth when they launch will be roughly around 248,000 statute miles.
They're expected to go about 4,000 miles farther than the Apollo 13 crew did.
And now they've headed to the elevator to go up. Again, I was talking about the loops.
You're going to be hearing from the crew as they discuss with the launch team getting
various systems ready to go and then closer to liftoff we'll hear the
operational launch team loop brought forward ahead of the critical pre-launch
poles and then the start of terminal count and that should be right around L-
25 minutes right before the NASA test director gives their poll and the
launch director gives her management poll which happens at L-17 minutes.
Right now a lot of focus is on of course the closeout crew they've made the way
for the crew to get inside the spacecraft now and walk across that crew access arm and
there they are. They have been working on a tight timeline, but they are ready to go
and they are ready to receive the crew and start putting them inside their integrity
spacecraft. That's it from the firing room. We'll send it back to Megan and Nicole.
And launch director Charlie Blackwell Thompson. Again, we mentioned her a second ago. Her
team have been training extensively for this moment since Artemis 1 launched in November 2022.
Today they have a message for Reed, Victor, Christina and Jeremy.
Today you carry the work of thousands and the hopes of millions. Every test, every simulation,
every long day and night have led to this moment.
This team is ready. The vehicle is ready. And you are ready.
From the ground to the moon, Godspeed, Artemis II!
I love that. I just love seeing all of the people who have contributed to this
mission and the fact that this is what they've been working for
and now it's culminating today.
Yeah, thousands of people have worked on this mission,
and, you know, we saw there from the launch team,
but human space flight is like the ultimate team sport,
is what I like to say, and that's just a great example
of our team wishing our astronauts good luck.
That shot there that we were just looking at
was aimed at the elevator doors, again,
to catch the astronauts as they make their way up
to the 274 foot level of the Mobile Launcher.
The Mobile Launcher is the structure you see there.
It is not only a way for the crew to obviously access Orion
but also provides the fuels, communications,
all that to the rocket.
And now we're watching the crew walk
across the crew access arm, getting a beautiful view of Kennedy Space Center.
From 274 feet.
Nicole laughs because Nicole is also like Reed does not like heights.
She's not like how open that crew access arm is.
But Reed made it across, so that's good news.
It looks like they really enjoyed it, you know, they didn't just walk straight past
Christina and Victor, we definitely saw.
Some thumbs up there too.
out, yep, that crew access arm, and then read, he knows where that camera is, taking
the opportunity to, again, just tell folks, hey, we're doing good. Ready for it. And it
looks like they're actually probably signing their patch.
Yeah, there's a wall with patches there, and so each crew signs when they get up for their
launch.
And so this is probably actually the first time a crew is doing this in the white room
of Launchpad 39B, don't take, don't quote me on that, but I think the signing started
with the commercial crew program, so there's a lot of that in the white room over at 39A,
but again, this is 39B, yep.
Yeah. And so now in this room here, the white room, again, we will see the crew don
or put on their communication caps again, their helmets, their gloves,
and remove coverings that they had on their shoes.
Yeah, so they want to protect the suits while they're walking out and up to the white room,
and now they'll finish reassembling those suits, put the boots on, put the gloves on.
You see they're working their com caps now, and they'll work the helmets eventually as well.
And so as we watch this process unfold, why don't we take a couple of questions for you guys,
from you guys. What is the most difficult thing about preparing for a flight, Nicole? That question's
obviously for you. This is a great question. You know, I think we get such good training.
You know, this crew's been training for years. And so they know this rocket and this capsule
inside and out. They know all the dangers. They know how to react to anything. So I actually think,
you know, preparing your support system and your family, I think launch day is actually
tougher for your family than it is for you. And we've heard the crew talk about the difficult
conversations that they've had with their family to prepare for this historic test flight.
And so I think, you know, the closer and closer you get to the rocket, the fewer and fewer
things from Earth you keep, you know, they left their suitcases at crew quarters this
morning. They left their cell phones, their laptops, everything. And so you are just a
human in a space suit about to get on a rocket with all of your loved ones watching. And
And I think that could be probably one of the most difficult parts about today.
And while you were answering that question, Nicole, we did get a chance to check, yes,
this is the first time a crew has signed the wall of the white room.
Again, here at Pad 39B.
Let's take another social question now.
All launch windows happen to be in the evening.
How come?
Obviously referring to the April opportunities specific to Artemis 2.
Right, you know, this is a complicated answer.
I don't know that I would have the exact mechanics behind it,
but it has a lot to do with orbital mechanics
and where we are in terms of the earth
and the moon relationship.
And, you know, like we said,
we're trying to get on that free return trajectory.
And so it has a lot to do with when we can do the perigee
and apogee rays burns and the transmitter injection.
So there's a lot of math that goes behind these launch windows
and why they shift and move
and why we just so happen to be in the evening
for the April launch when this.
Yep, he did answer it well.
All right, and before we asked you guys a question,
who would you take to the moon with you?
Would that be a bestie, a pet, family member,
or seasoned astronaut?
Overwhelmingly seasoned astronaut.
So Nicole, you and I are going to the moon.
Was that your answer as well?
That was totally my answer.
Again, like I thought my husband would not like that answer
because he didn't want to come along too.
But I think if asked, he would also say,
see the doctor, not so.
That's fair, yeah.
Like we said, there's a lot of training
that goes behind it.
These guys can react to anything that comes their way.
And so, yeah, if you don't have all that training,
maybe you do want someone that's a little bit more experienced.
Yep, so correct answer, everyone.
And now we have another question for you.
What do you want to know about living in Orion?
What the crew eats?
how the crew sleeps, how to fly the vehicle,
or how free time is spent.
Another great question.
Yes, I'm excited to see what they say.
Yeah, so head to NASA's Instagram or Twitch accounts
to vote and we'll share the results as soon as possible.
And while you're doing that, remember to also sign up
to be a virtual guest for this mission.
Just go to the link, we'll pull up on your screen.
As a virtual guest, you will get mission-specific information,
notifications of any schedule changes,
and curated resources straight to your inbox.
You will also receive commemorative stamps
for your virtual passport after launch and slashed down.
Again, we really, really want you guys to engage with us,
engage with this mission, come along with us for the ride.
So yeah, take advantage of these opportunities
to be a part of it.
It's a mission for all.
And so back in the suit, no, not the suit of room, the white room.
Well, they're suiting up.
You can see why I might have slipped that up.
So they are continuing to put on gloves.
Reed and Jeremy look like they've been checked.
Again, they put on their gloves, their helmets.
They've taken off those coverings on their shoes
that they're about to get into Orion.
And then suit technicians are also helping Christina and Victor.
And they're in this particular order, actually,
because this is the order in which they're going to ingress into Orion.
Again, we have Reed, Jeremy, and Victor, last, Christina.
Yeah, and that just has to do, like you said, with the seat orientation.
So as the astronauts sit down and lay back in the capsule,
the left side will be Reed, and then below him will be Jeremy.
So that's why they're going to get in first to create space
for then Victor and Christina to get in.
And let's talk a little bit now about the closeout team.
We saw a few of these folks also in the suit of room.
Suit technicians were in there again to make sure
that they get into the suits properly.
And then a couple of them came out to the pad here
to again do the same thing.
Hey, are you comfortable in these suits?
Is everything is as you expected?
And then these folks here will help them get into Orion, buckle up.
And so we were talking a little bit about their attire, especially made for what they're
doing right now.
Yeah, so these, they almost look like the equivalent of a flight suit, right?
They're fire resistant.
You know, they've got the straps on the back for emergencies that mimic the same straps
that the astronauts have on their suits so that you can use the same exact equipment
in an emergency egress from the pad, for example, so we can use the same equipment
to get everybody safely away from the pad as required or if needed.
Yeah, always thinking about those contingencies, you know, how to very quickly,
if there were an emergency, get everyone out, not just the astronauts,
but also the closeout crew if an emergency was happening while they were still at the pad.
and so those suits flame retardant.
Also, when we see them crawl into Orion,
you will notice that they are on their knees quite a bit.
So built in knee pads,
really a thoughtful design for the purpose
that they're serving today.
Yeah, they're functional, which is exactly what we want,
but also they're pretty classy looking.
So we did a good job with the design.
I was gonna say, you know, they actually look like,
you know, the outfits that car racers wear, right?
And then when I said that to the lead of the closeout crew,
he's number one, if we do see him, Taylor Hoes,
he said, well, actually we are kind of like a pit crew,
you know, like they're very quickly moving
through the operations so that not a lot of time,
not more time is spent at the pad than is needed
because this is a fully fueled rocket, Nicole.
Right, yeah, we want to minimize the time
that we have more humans up in the white room,
but also safely and efficiently
get the astronauts ingress into the capsule.
And so that's their main job.
So yeah, I like the pit crew analogy works great.
And so Nicole, as we get ready to see them ingress,
I know you'll be again an invaluable source
as we talk through this part of the launch countdown
because you've been inside a mock-up of the Orion spacecraft.
And I know that because you texted me a photo
that you took the selfie in the mock-up.
And little did you know, I was going to put it in this broadcast.
Yeah, this was actually a really wonderful opportunity.
Last week, our flight control team at Johnson Space Center
hosted an open house of the Orion mock-up there
in the space vehicle mock-up facility.
And so I got to spend some time in the capsule
with some of the flight controllers who are actually
sitting on console right now.
and talk to them about everything inside the mock-up.
So you see I've got a bump cap on.
It's like a small hard hat.
There are a lot of metal corners and things
and we are still squishy humans at the end of the day.
And so they want you to be careful
while you're moving around in there.
But I got to see how the crew will ingress.
I got to look at the umbilical and the seat straps.
And I got to see the emergency equipment and the stowage
and the toilet.
I got to see it all.
Got to talk about everything.
It was pretty cool.
It was a really great time.
Michael and Bruce were great with me.
They answered all of my questions.
Yeah, because it's really good to be
able to give that perspective.
Because as you guys will see, yes,
we do have cameras inside Orion.
And we'll, of course, take you in.
But it doesn't give you a true feeling
or idea of how big the space is, how things are configured.
Again, when we see them go in, they're actually
on their backs. So again, it's just hard to really get a sense of the inside there, but
Nicole is going to really help walk us through that.
Yeah, you said they're on their backs and you know, you have to somehow get there. And
so they're actually going to almost barrel roll onto their shoulder to get onto their
backs and their feet up on those leg rests. Actually, Andre is holding on to right there.
You can see Andre number two is inside getting everything ready for them. And actually those
leg rests for the pilot and commander seat will come off once they get into orbit to
create some more space for them.
And it looks like we're getting ready to ingress here.
Yep, thumbs up from Reid.
Everybody configured with their suits, and so in we go.
They actually get inside by walking backwards.
That's the easiest way to get in, right, Nicole?
Yeah, so you will step down right over the flywheel or the exercise equipment that they've
got in there.
a second and then you actually step down right on top of the toilet area backwards you can see him going now
and he's already turned around and walking in and see Drace protecting his helmet and his
visor there from all the that metal yeah it's a tight squeeze but they've done this a lot so
Reid's already all the way across the capsule yeah that was fast impressive Reid impressive that's
That's why you're the commander.
Oh, a heart there from Jeremy again.
Yep, Canada.
Canada is about to get into Orion.
And so you mentioned Ray.
Why don't we talk a little bit about him?
So that was NASA astronaut Andre Douglas.
And he is actually one of the backup crew members
for the Artemis II mission.
He trained alongside the primary crew and will step in.
and if any of the three astronauts are unable to fly.
Yeah, Dre's actually a classmate of mine, so fellow fly.
Yeah, so we've worked very closely together.
It's exciting to see him in this role.
Yeah, Virginia native selected as an astronaut candidate
in December, 2021.
He completed his training in March, 2024
and was subsequently named as the Artemis II backup crew
member just months later in July.
Before joining NASA, Andre worked
at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory,
where he specialized in spacecraft systems engineering,
his work focus on the systems that help spacecraft
know where they are and how to get where they need to go.
So obviously critical for missions to the moon.
Yeah, he's a Wigged Smart guy.
He's got like 15 degrees, I think or something.
Oh, my.
So.
And so now here we are back inside Orion,
where the closeout crew, each one, with either Reed or Jeremy.
So it looks like Andre is with Reed,
and this is a camera shot of behind Reed's head.
So Reed, while Andre is buckling him in,
that's a five-point harness,
Reed was configuring his control panel.
Yeah, the displays.
We're getting the displays ready so that they can monitor all
of the systems and monitor the launches they go.
Christina, they're signing the wall.
Got to put away the pen.
The pen could be for an object, debris, or font,
which is bad for NASA.
We definitely want to make sure that we keep track of everything
and we know where everything is because the smallest thing could prevent us from launching
or affect the equipment out there.
Yeah, and you'll actually see that most of their tools will be tethered as well,
so nothing can fall through a crack or drop.
And so as soon as Jeremy and Reed are good to go in their seats
their seats and connected to their communication umbilicals. As Daryl had
said before, we will start hearing the loops, the audio mission loops,
specifically Orion to Earth One, which is the communication loop that the crew
communicate on to the different teams supporting launch today.
And as we said, when we were in suit up, after they do communication checks, again, suit
leak checks to make sure that nothing went wrong between the suit up room and here and
also to specifically connect them to the Orion systems.
Yes, this will be an integrated test with Orion and the suits to make sure the entire system is working and ready for flight.
And so you'll notice, uh, Reed and when Victor sits down, Reed and Victor are the only ones with the display panels in front of them.
Jeremy and Christina will actually share a personal computer device, and that will be
on Jeremy's leg, and that's how they'll continue to follow along with telemetry and data.
Yeah, it's actually pretty cool.
This is one of the technology demos that we're doing, and so they're going to plug
into the system, and it'll be a screen repeater on that device for them so that they can see
what the pilot commander is seeing.
OTC at MIS-2 is online for Comchex.
This is OTC, repeat.
MIS-2 ready for Comchex.
The MIS-2 ready for Comchex.
MIS-2, OTC, you're on Earth 1, Comchex.
OTC, it's MS-2.
I'll be loud and clear on one.
You're welcome, sir.
And so that was the Orion test conductor, speaking with Jeremy Hansen, again mission specialist too for this mission.
So his communication check over, you heard him say one, Orion to Earth one has been completed, a successful test.
The rest of the crew here waiting in the white room, again, as Nicole was saying, a little
tight there for all of those folks, so Christina and Victor will wait until Reed and Jeremy
are done getting buckled in.
Yeah, I think four astronauts and four suit techs would be a tight fit in my capsule.
Yeah, I mean, take a look at Bill.
number three there that the the suit technician there he is kneeling where
Christina will be in order to get chair me situated
OTC asks, Commander is ready for cop checks.
OTC copies, Commander.
NTD, MISC-212, cop check.
NTD, have you loud and clear here as well?
I'll catch up to you as soon as I'm on my floor, thank you.
Commander, OTC, you're on Earth 1.
OTC, you're on Earth 1.
Good, calm, welcome sir.
And there you have it, a successful Com Check with Commander Reed Wiseman.
And so.
And shoot your entity on Rinder Earth One for Com Check.
It's a air wash out, I got you Ma'am, good to see you.
And good to have you on board.
Good luck today.
And so now, these two closeout crew members
will finish up what they're doing here.
Again, Nicole, walk us through what is happening here.
They're connecting umbilicals, is what we're saying.
They're strapping them in, so they're getting their restraints
connected.
It's a five-point harness with a quick release.
And then they're connecting the umbilical, which
has three different, actually four different connections.
So it's got the air in, air out, the water for cooling,
and then the comm as well, the communication cable.
So they're gonna make sure that all of those connections
are good to go, make sure the crew's receiving the cooling
and the air, and then we heard the comm check as well.
So they're just making sure the umbilical connection
was good to go, getting them strapped in and ready.
And then they will move on to Victor and Christina.
And so while we wait for that to happen,
why don't we get another check
of the launch countdown milestones
with Daryl and the launch team?
All right, welcome back into the firing room, firing room one, here where some of the launch
team is having some pizza that was brought by the administrator.
That was nice of Administrator Jared Isaacman to bring that by for the launch team to enjoy.
We're at minus three hours and 44 minutes and counting as you can see the crew ingressing
into the spacecraft.
There are a number of things that are happening on the timeline.
Of course, the closeout crew, they liken themselves to like an F1 pit crew working quickly, methodically,
carefully as they go through their procedures to get the astronauts ingressed.
Overall, there's a little bit of timeline pressure, right?
There's only a certain amount of time as you see the astronauts going into Orion, only
a certain amount of time that they can spend on their backs.
They will be there for a few hours, right?
So we're sitting at 2.40 p.m. Eastern Time, and the window opens at 6.24 p.m. Eastern
Time and runs until 8.24 p.m. Eastern Time.
So four or five hours or more on their backs, and then they'll hopefully lift off for a
launch.
So, of course, the crew is mindful at the time, they don't want to slip into the window
if they don't have to.
And so they're keeping a tight lock on the margin
in the amount of time that they're working there.
And there's a heart from Christina Cook.
Great to see that as she gets ready to get into
the Orion spacecraft, one that they named Integrity.
It certainly fits this crew from what I've observed.
Now, right now the rockets tanks,
they're in what's called replenish mode.
So, another factor for this closeout crew is,
and the crew themselves, this is a fully tanked,
ready, almost ready to go rocket.
It's got all the propellant it needs to go to the moon.
It's just a matter of getting the astronauts in,
getting them configured, and getting all the systems,
the high energy systems, bringing them all online
in order to launch this rocket.
As they sit there, there is propellant boil-off
that's happening.
All tanks are at 100%, but the propellant, which is liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen,
those two propellants are minus 423 for hydrogen and minus 297 for the liquid oxygen.
They are boiling right now. They've been boiling the entire time they've been in the tank.
And that is vented out, as you can see, when we look to a wider shot of the rocket,
of the rocket, you can see the vent team and the little
wisp of clouds that are coming out from the top of the rocket
in the middle part of the rocket.
And that is because just like you boil water on your stove,
those propellants are boiling.
Of course, their boiling point is much lower than water.
And so it doesn't take much for them to boil.
But just as if you were to leave your pot of water on the stove
and just leave it there, what would happen?
Well, it would completely boil off.
and all the water would be gone.
Just basically turned into water vapor inside your house.
Well, it's the same case here,
so we are continually replenishing the rocket
with propellant, liquid hydrogen and oxygen
running from those propellant lines
that you see there going into the rocket.
So that continues to go well.
Overall, look from the launch team here,
this has been a very smooth countdown so far.
The cryo-tanking went exceptionally well, and the launch team is really in a good mood right now,
cautiously optimistic understanding that with a system this complex you can have something
unexpected happen, but to this point the firing room is really encouraged by what they've seen
so far and are especially excited to see these astronauts getting inside the spacecraft.
L minus three hours and 40 minutes in counting until we open up that window for launch.
For now, we'll send it back to Megan and Nicole.
Thank you, Darrell. And, you know, he mentioned that the crew decided to name Orion Integrity,
and it was not something they came to easily. You know, they really wanted to put in a lot
of thought, and what they came down to is integrity is a value that NASA embodies,
and also individually, they felt like integrity is something
that speaks powerfully to them.
Yeah, and I think the other part of integrity, you know,
it just represents the humility and the professionalism
behind the entire team that built this rocket
and got us here today.
And so it's a fitting name for this capsule.
Yeah, like I said, I think the crew said it took them a little
bit to decide on what they wanted,
but I think they made the perfect choice.
I agree.
And so as the countdown to launch continues,
We are reminded that this is an agency-wide effort
to make today's launch attempt possible.
We invited people across our NASA family
to wish our crew a safe journey.
Go Team Artemis! Go Team Artemis!
Three, two, one, blast off!
Have a great flight.
Godspeed. We'll get you around the moon and home.
If I had a message for the crew, be safe.
To have fun.
To remember that we're all down here rooting for them.
I want to wish my friend and former student, Victor Glover, and the entire Artemis team
best wishes and a successful flight.
Have fun.
Take some really cool pictures.
Can't wait to see you in the year back.
From the Earth-to-Sky team, connecting NASA science to public lands, go Artemis!
We will see you in the Pacific and you can count on us being there.
Greetings from NASA Langley's historic Gantry facility.
We're a new learn to land on the moon and Orion learn to swim.
We are with you all the latest flashdown.
Let's go to fly from the Iranian human integrity.
Woo!
On the full moon, your future is bright.
Have a safe journey through the long-term heat it seems.
Be quick, don't hide it.
I hope to see you guys back safely in San Diego,
maybe singing some karaoke.
Yeah, yeah, right, maybe.
He knows exactly what he wants to do.
He's like, yep, karaoke.
I love that people submitted videos.
videos, you know, this is something that we actually asked as part of the
broadcast, we're like, you know what, I think it'll be really fun. And the
overwhelming amount of people who wanted to record something for the crew was
really heartwarming. Yeah, you know, this is the first time in over half a
century that we're sending people back to the moon and everybody is excited
about it. You know, kindergarten at congressman and all over the world,
everyone is ready for today and excited to see this launch. So here we are
again, still inside Orion with the closeout team,
putting some final touches on, it looks like Victor's
configuration there, again, making sure that his harness
is set and that he's connected to cooling,
he's connected to communications,
and he's connected to any other umbilicals
that he needs to be connected to for Orion.
Again, we are sharing so much information with you and we hope you find it educational
and fun, but we do know you guys still have some questions, so why don't we take another
one now?
Tell us what the moon is like!
So cute, that wasn't a question, that was a demand.
That was.
You tell her what the moon is like.
Oh man, that was so cute.
The moon is really cool, right?
So it's a lot of gray and white and shades of gray.
It is something that doesn't have wind or rain or rivers
or an atmosphere.
And so we like to say it's the, Christina said it earlier,
it's the witness plate to the universe.
And it has all these impact craters.
Because it's not protected, things hit it all the time.
Meteoroids, asteroids, all sorts of things hit the moon
and create these impact craters.
That's part of what we want to go and look at
and learn about on the moon.
I can tell us a lot about the age of the universe
and the age of the moon.
It's four and a half billion years old,
and we can learn a lot from just looking at the regolith
or the dirt that is on the moon.
Well, thank you for that question,
and thank you for that answer.
She was cuter, Nicole.
I agree.
And then earlier today, we wanted to ask you, what do you want to know about living in Orion?
And we told you to pick between what the crew eats, how they sleep, how they fly the vehicle,
and how free time is spent and the winner.
Most of you wanted to know how to fly the vehicle, and we are going to be doing that.
Yes, we are.
You know, that's a great question, and actually part of what we're going to do.
So the rocket is fairly automated, right?
There's a countdown and the whole system
knows when it needs to ignite the engines.
But we are gonna do some manual piloting
throughout this mission.
Once they launch and they separate from the ICPS,
they're actually going to do a rendezvous
and proximity operations demonstration.
So what does that mean?
They're gonna take that portion of the rocket
and they're gonna try to fly closely to it.
And so they will actually take manual control of the Orion
spacecraft and try to get nice and close to the other portion
of the rocket that had just separated.
And so you can see actually a little bit in the view
that you have right now.
So for Reid, the left-hand person, his right hand,
there's a joystick, if you will, on the right side.
And then on the left side, there's something similar.
And so they've got translational and rotational hand
controllers in order to command the rocket in different axes.
Yeah, it's really exciting.
I mean, Victor said it himself, like one thing that he's really looking forward to
is piloting Orion manually.
So we'll get to see that during our continuous coverage.
Again, we are covering this entire mission.
We started with tanking, and we will go all the way through Splashdown.
So you will see what Nicole was just talking about, that proximity ops
demonstration, where the crew will pilot Orion manually.
And so speaking of their 10-day mission, why don't we take a closer look at the
crew's home away from home for the next 10 days.
Here's Megan Carter again from the KSC Visitor Complex.
All right, thanks Megan.
Yeah, it's getting real out there.
So I'm going to bring you back to the moon board.
So I can show you just a few things about the Orion.
Obviously, it is going to be very compact sitting up there on top of the SLS rocket.
Very compact, like I mentioned, of over 355,000 pieces.
So let me show you a couple of key components, starting with these three fairing panels right
there.
When the rocket blasts off, obviously it is going to get very fast.
It's going to get a lot to do in windy.
And so we have these three fairing panels in place to protect our astronauts.
I am also going to take you into a little bit closer and talk about the expert launch
onboard system.
This is the one piece that is going to be in place to protect the astronaut, should
something happen to go wrong in the first few minutes of launch, they can actually hit
those abort motors and these can activate within milliseconds, basically faster than
you can even blink and that is going to pull the crew and the crew capsule away from any
danger.
Now, obviously we hope that those are not needed and if that is the case then about
three and a half minutes into flight. The LAS and those steering panels will
actually activate and jettison away. They'll fall away from the rocket because
at that point the crew can actually abort the spacecraft safely by
themselves. Now we've talked a lot about the crew capsule right here. This is
where they are going to spend the duration of their flight. We're going to
talk a lot more about that one in just a little bit but for now let me jump down
here to the service module. This is the one we're going to think of this as the
powerhouse for the spacecraft. It's pretty much going to provide them with almost everything
that they need for the entire mission. Temperature control, removing the carbon dioxide, providing
them with oxygen. So much more. You can also do coarse corrections and things like that. So
super quick breakdown, but as you can see, all of these components together are going to make
the spacecraft one that is built not just to fly, but to protect, sustain and bring those astronauts
home. All right, lots more to come, but let's see where we are with the crew. Back over to you,
Megan. Hey, thanks so much, Megan. A lot of useful information there, and we did want to point out
that you did hear over the... And PLT, NTD, on Rindereth 1 for contact. NTD, PLT, I have you
loud and clear on OE1. And I have you the same. Welcome aboard.
And so, again, we are now hearing mission audio loops,
specifically the Orion to Earth 1 loop,
the communication channel for the crew,
successful com checks by both Victor and Christina.
10.1.1, crew ingress and vehicle pre-launch config, step one.
And so see now we are privy to some of the countdown procedures that the team is asking
for the crew to do.
Yeah, so they're going to work through some of these procedures and finish the ingress
portion as you heard in that procedure.
So this is where the crew is going to start building their nest, if you will, running
some procedures, getting the capsule ready for humans to be onboard.
And now look at the clock, three hours, 30 minutes and counting until the opening of
our two-hour launch window and we are pretty good on time. We are, as we are expecting,
in terms of when Ingress will be wrapping up soon. And so now let's bring Gary Jordan,
again our commentator inside of Mission Control at Houston. Gary, let's check in with you
about mission preparations.
Hey, Megan, thank you.
Yes, we're following along here in Mission Control Houston.
RTC copies.
We'll stand by for those conchecks.
And again, we're waiting for those com checks.
We did confirm from our IBA officer here in Mission Control Houston that all four suits
have plugged in umbilicals.
CDR, NTD. Go ahead, NTD. Yeah, Reed, we're ready to proceed with the voice checks if
you and everyone else is. NTD, integrity crew is ready for voice checks. I copy that.
In integrity for the entire crew, come check on Orion to Earth 1.
CR PLT.
MS-1.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
MS-2.
C.R.
PLT.
MMF1.
MMF2.
The entire Houston on a land to earth one, voice check for the entire crew.
CR PLD MS-2.
Houston has all four crew loud and clear on OE 1, scammed by for two.
Your initial word was broken staff.
MS-1.
MS-2.
More crew loud and clear on OE-2.
We'll use one for the default Houston out.
And CDR entity.
CDR.
Yeah, we're going to go ahead and we're going to clear a couple
of those messages on your screen here.
Just want to give you a heads up that you'll see that.
Copy all.
CDR, OTC, Irina Earth 1.
CDR.
Yes, Sarah, perform crew suit leak checks for 10.1.1, crew ingress and vehicle prelaunch
config steps two through four. Annunciation of LCC O-ARS-001 will occur.
10.1.1, crew ingress and vehicle pre-launch config steps two through four. Going in work
now.
This is Mission Control Houston.
We are following along as the four crew members
of Artemis II work through their voice checks,
then the umbilical connections and various pathways
to get communications from all of the-
on your screen.
CDR.
Yes, sir, we're going to look to do a quick refresh
on your screen if you guys are okay with that.
Okay, Farham, just let us know when we can continue in 10.1.1.
We'll go hands off.
10.1.1 referring to the procedures that they have
through the various phases of ingress and some of the checkouts needed to prepare for today's launch.
Here in Mission Control Houston, the IVA or Intravagricular Activity Officer will be confirming
the leak check status and watching as the suits pressurize to once again confirm that the suits are
in a good configuration ahead of launch. Of course, for the teams here in Houston, launch is just the beginning.
The first flight day is jam-packed with activities.
Shortly after Managing Cut-Off, integrity will enter into a coast phase while still attached to the in-rim cryogenic propulsion stage, or ICPS, and prepare to deploy the solar arrays.
With power being generated, integrity prepares.
Go ahead, NT.
Yeah.
With that refresh, you've got to go to proceed with your 10.101.
Picking up 10.1.1, step 2.3 through 4.
Picking up the procedures, the crew again working through the various steps to prepare
Therefore, launch standing by for seats.
This is Mission Control Houston.
the visors closed, the pressurization tests can commence, we'll stand by to, for word
of a good leak check on all four of the crew member suits for the Artemis II mission.
Again, this is the very beginning of a very busy flight day for our four crew members.
After launch, they have a series of burns to prepare for, the first major burn being
the perigee-raise maneuver that allows them to continue in low-earth orbit, and the next
being the apogee-raise burn that puts them in a high-earth orbit.
This is an orbit that takes them around the Earth for nearly a day, 23.5 hours to be precise,
and allows the teams, including the astronauts and the flight control teams, to check out
critical systems ahead of committing to the next day's translunar injection.
But before they even call it a day, integrity will separate from the ICPS, and the crew
The crew will command the Orion capsule to separate from the ICPS and turn around and
approach the upper stage but not dock.
This is to test Orion's in-space maneuvering capabilities and provide further confidence
in docking to another lunar space vehicle like the human landing system that will be
be part of the Artemis-3 mission ahead of future moon landings.
These are just a few of the highlights of the very first of 10 flight days as we await
for confirmation of good leak checks inside the capsule integrity, and there's a lot
more to this mission.
A reminder that this is, of course, a test flight.
The purpose here is to demonstrate procedure systems and life inside Orion on a mission
around the Moon for the first time and give further confidence in the capabilities that
are charting a return to the lunar surface.
You may be able to see from this view the suits themselves inflating.
This is, again, a pressure check, verifying that the suits are leak-free ahead of the
assent portion of today's flight.
How you see the crew now with visors down will be the configuration of their assent
all the way through core stage separation, about a little more than eight minutes after
booster ignition.
All right here in Mission Control Houston we are continuing to follow along standing
by for confirmation of good leak checks.
In the meantime, there are no showstoppers here
in Mission Control Houston, and we continue to monitor the countdown to launch.
Megan, we'll send it back to you over at the Space Coast.
Hey, Gary, thank you so much.
Yes, we wait for confirmation of a successful leak check for all four astronauts.
Why don't we go back to Daryl, again, who has been following along with the launch countdown
as we inch closer to the opening of our two-hour launch window.
Right, thank you, Megan. And yes, getting some good communication. It's great to hear from the crew inside, even though it is as simple as a comm check.
It's really good to hear their voices as they move through those various comm checks and then get ready for their suit leak checks.
Fantastic views inside Orion that you're looking at now.
We're still 80% go for our two hour launch window, which starts at 6.24pm Eastern time
and closes at 8.24pm Eastern time.
That's the good news.
The bad news is that we've got some rain showers that are starting to head in.
Looks like it may miss the pad.
It wouldn't matter if it rained on it or not, though.
It's received some rain showers.
If it rained on it or not, though, it's received some rain earlier today.
Water isn't going to hurt anything out there at this point.
But the rest of the area might be getting a little bit wet, which may include the host
desk, so keep an eye out for that.
As we're watching with the astronauts inside the Orion Integrity spacecraft, you'll be
hearing more and more from them, especially Christina Cook, who is mission specialist
number one, she not only is going to be making history.
The key to the all crew, geysers open, suit, loop, leak check complete.
Okay.
Okay, there you heard the suit, leak check complete.
They check those suits for leaks and astronaut crew quarters.
check them again inside the spacecraft. As you can see, the closeout crew, our astronaut
support person, moving around turned off the camera. So now we're looking from outside
the Orion spacecraft, looking towards, let's see, get oriented here. Well, there we go.
Back inside, we've got the view. But basically what I was saying about Christina Cook is
that she will have the role of reading.
And she will have the role of reading out a pressure reading that tells the team that-
And CDR, Entity.
Go ahead, NTD.
Yeah, we're going to do another cleanup on those suit check messages that we got since
we're done with that now.
Integrity copies.
Here.
And that's communication going between Orion Commander Reed Wiseman and NASA Test Director
Jeff Spaulding.
As I was saying, Christina Cook will be reading measurements
from the counterbalance assist arm.
So you're going to hear her be asked by the NASA test
director to read that.
That CBA, counterbalance assist arm,
it's mechanically latched by the closeout crew using tools.
But there's a hydraulic assist.
It's pneumatically opened and closed rather
with a pressure assist that helps open it up.
Not only that hatch, but also the last hatch.
There's two hatches there that we'll see that will be closed.
But this is in case of an emergency out there at the pad.
If the crew, for some reason, needed to exit quickly,
then they would exit the spacecraft
by pulling that lever, which would open both hatches.
Those hatches are heavy.
The Orion hatch is hundreds of pounds.
Thank you.
The camera is one and two, both sets are record.
Do you take up these?
And just an update on the launch countdown,
continuing to monitor the team's communications here
in fire room one.
everything going really smoothly so far.
We don't have any
significant open constraints to launch at this time,
so we continue counting down.
And for now, we'll send it back to the host desk
with Megan and Nicole.
Thank you so much, Darrell.
And so we heard some of the communications
over our Orion to Earth One,
and it sounds like we are now moving
into the hatch prep and closure phase.
We will now start to see the closeout crew
getting out of Orion soon,
so that they can start getting ready to, again,
close up Orion, close the two hatches,
and then get out of the pad.
Yeah, the closeout team will take the hatch seals off
and they'll inspect the seals,
make sure everything's ready to go,
and then do a few last minute configurations
before they close that hatch.
And then, like Daryl talked about,
and Kristina will have a role in looking at the CBA there.
So, yeah, you might have heard them say over the loops again
that drag on camera.
So, basically, it's a camera that they can move around
and you might have seen it in a couple of our shots already,
but they will take that camera and literally go
and inspect the seal that there's two seals actually,
two seals that go around the entire area of the hatch just
to make sure that everything looks good
and that camera feed is being directly shown
to NASA teams who need to monitor that.
Yeah, they want to make sure there's not a single hair
or piece of dust on those.
Make sure that there's no damage
and everything's ready to go so that the seal,
they will do a leak check on this hatch seal as well.
Make sure it passes.
Yeah, and we'll know they're doing that
because we will actually see one
of the closeout crew members with a hand pump
and they will pressurize again just the seals
and they have to see if it will hold pressure for just a minute.
And if it does, then they will go ahead
to pressurize the entire Orion spacecraft, and then that, again,
is to make sure that the spacecraft is holding the right amount of pressure.
And that one's a lot longer.
It'll take them like eight minutes.
Like, it takes time to pressurize it, then they have to hold pressure,
and then it takes time to depressurize it.
Right, and they want to measure the difference in pressures at the beginning and end of that,
and make sure that it holds the right amount of pressure so that when they get
to the vacuum of space, obviously the capsule holds its pressure.
Yep. Okay.
Well, again, as we continue to watch operations that are happening at the pad inside of Orion,
why don't we go over to Banana Creek?
It's one of our viewing locations here at Kennedy Space Center.
They will have a spectacular view, and we actually have NASA's Leah Martin there chatting
with a big group of people surrounded by a lot of folks on bleachers there.
Hey, Megan, you got tons of people out here today, thousands of people gathering at Banana
great to enjoy NASA's next big mission and humanity's next great leap today.
It's a gorgeous day and I'm joined here actually by some people who are probably
the only people in center who are a little bit more excited than me to see
this rocket lift off. Where are you from and why are you here? So we're from the
University of Tennessee Knoxville. We're a group of seven aerospace senior
engineering students traveling here with Josh Dobbs, former quarterback of the
University of Tennessee with his extraordinary Dove's Foundation. Now you
were actually telling me a little bit earlier you're here local you're from
Orlando what's it like being an aerospace engineer and then having the
opportunity to come back here to the Space Coast and see this mission lift off
today. It is absolutely amazing I feel like the little nine-year-old girl
inside me is so excited like I'm from around here I grew up watching launches
in my backyard and so this seems like such a full circle happy moment for me.
Now you are an aerospace engineer looking hopefully to join the workforce in the
future. How does it feel to be here and see firsthand what that work does?
It's just so cool to see what I've been working for for the last four years and
then 12 years before that just actually be physically happening in front of me.
That's something I never dreamed of as a kid. And I'm actually joined here by the
Now you have a history of NASA as well, you did an externship here, and how did that kind of play into your passion for aerospace, and then the foundation that actually provided this opportunity for these students today?
100%. So I spent a month here around the Artemis I mission, which was a tremendous opportunity to learn about the space program, and also what's next.
And so to be back here for Artemis II and unfortunately Artemis I went in the middle of the season,
so it's surreal to be here for Artemis II and my foundation like the goal is to be able to
take advantage of the opportunities that I've had and pass along to the future of the industry and
give them the opportunity to see what all their hard work can accumulate into. So it's an honor
to be here. We're really appreciative of all the engineers and all the hard work that's gone
into this moment and we're excited to watch history happen today. Absolutely and as a group I think
if you guys had one well wish for the team today what would you say I think we can all join
together maybe say go Artemis. Go Artemis. That was a fun interview and again just so neat to see
all the people who are here I mean still hours before lift off not even hours before lift up
but hours before a two-hour launch window so people just really committed to being here and
and seeing it in person.
Yeah, you can see the Banana Creek is already buzzing behind Leah.
You could hear the chatter in the background.
It's an exciting time.
Yeah, you could tell that it's a lot louder than we noticed
because we just have very good mics.
But, you know, she's obviously yelling over a huge crowd there.
So, super fun, super exciting.
And yes, I hope that we all get to see lift off here shortly.
OK, so as we know, Victor, Reed, Christina, and Jeremy
will have their hands full during their mission.
So for some of their test flight objectives,
Let's go back to Megan Carter at the moon board.
All right, as we have seen from those camera views,
their capsule is very compact, obviously.
So let me show you a few cool things about this piece.
The Orion capsule is going to only be about 16.8 feet
in diameter and a whopping 10.5 in height.
Think of it about the same cubic feet as two minibands.
So obviously every piece of that capsule
has been planned with purpose.
and a really great example of that is going to be these seats that we have seen that live you
love. Now these seats are going to be out for launch re-entry and splashdown but in between
they are stored in between to give them more room for daily activities and things like that.
While they are on board obviously they are going to have a lot of things to do. One of those is
going to be to manually fly Orion as we've discussed but they also have several other objectives as well
and they're going to be doing lots of system checkouts, checking out the
service module, making sure everything is working correctly. They're also, like I
said, going to have a chance to manually fly. Now this was taken during one of
their training simulations, but as you can see here they will have advanced
flight displays, hand controllers, touchscreen interfaces, so much to work
with and practice with as well. Now while on board they will also have the
ability to eat those shelf stable meals that are designed specifically for
microgravity. I think I saw somewhere that one of their meals is going to be mac and cheese and
brisket. So that makes the southern meat and very happy. All right, but they are going to have also
some time to look at some things like power and propulsion. They will have three key propulsion
systems that are going to help power Orion as well. And speaking of power, I want to bring you back
to the service module real quick because I wanted to point out these four solar panels. These are
going to take about 18 minutes to unfold like giant wings and they're going to stretch 62 feet
from end to end and these are going to help power the service module and in turn provide
what the crew needs for their journey. So as you can see, spacecraft is built specifically for
what we need and to guide them and get them home safely. All right back over to you Megan.
Thank you so much Megan. You know it's taken thousands of people many years to get to us
to where we are today. Let's meet some of the people of Artemis who've made this flight test possible.
I am the Artemis Launch Director. I'm the Orion Crew Survival System Manager. I am the Artemis
II Chief Training Officer. I'm the SLS Launch Integration and Mission Operations Lead. I am
the Recovery Director and I'm Boeing's floor stage IPT leader at Kennedy Space Center. I am the Artemis
II Entry Flight Director. And I'm the Close-October Lead for Artemis II. Our job is to design the
the spacesuits that the crew will wear for the Artemis II mission. The team here at Johnson Space
Center in the Orion Crew Survival Systems Lab does pretty much everything involved with processing
the suits, designing the suits, qualifying the suits, testing them for the Orion mission.
The role of the Chief Training Officer is to manage both the planning and the development of
how we are going to train our astronauts and run our simulations for our flight control team
for the mission and then go implement that plan.
Recovery team is responsible for three things.
Recovery is what we call our nominal recovery situation
where we go recovery the crew and the capsule
at their designated landing site.
Rescue is if in case we do need to rescue the crew
or they land it somewhere else that we did not plan
and then the retrieval is us getting the capsule
if they did land somewhere where we did not expect them to.
My job on SLS is to manage the operations architecture
on SLS program.
One of the specific things that we do is support launch operations.
It means a lot to be a part of the Sardimus team,
to show the next generation and see what may come.
I am responsible for our core stage processing at Kennedy Space Center.
My team is responsible for that core stage,
and it's our responsibility to make sure that core stage is safe, built correctly,
and there's going to be four of our astronauts,
and it's going to get them to their ride around the moon.
I've been a flight director for over 10 years now.
I worked on the Artemis-1 mission,
and after the mission completed,
I was assigned as the entry flight director for Artemis-2.
I can't wait to see the hatch open after splash found.
That's when we know that our mission will be complete
and the crew will have safely returned to the moon
and back to Earth.
Most of our crew is responsible for getting astronauts
up to the white room, getting their helmets and gloves on,
getting them into the vehicle safely,
connecting all their umbilicals,
making sure they're ready to go for launch,
and then closing the primordial hatch.
The reason we do this is to expand mankind's knowledge.
If I can be a part of that, doing anything,
I want to do that.
The launch director role really is to step back
and kind of take that big picture view of launch.
How are we doing on any NCs?
How are we doing our timelines, our procedures?
Autumn is too, is the beginning.
It's going to inspire a new generation.
It's going to uncover science.
It's going to serve as a pathway to places
that we have never been before.
And to meet more people of Artemis,
you can head to the link we're gonna put up
on your screen there.
Just again, really nice to see all the faces
that have put in the work, the time, the hours,
the dedication to get us to today.
Yeah, so many professionals
that worked so hard on this mission.
And what was really fun to see is,
we interviewed Taylor Hoes,
close out crew lead, as he said,
And that's who we are now seeing inside of the white room as they are getting ready to close out Orion and close one of two hatches.
We have the side hatch of the crew module as well as the launch abort system hatch, correct?
Yeah, the astronauts are in the capsule. They're ready to go.
And now the white room is very busy as they're getting ready to close both of those hatches.
It's a great shot right there where you can see them.
Almost looks like they're doing that hatch seal inspection that we talked about.
And so, Nicole, as we continue to see them get ready to close that smaller hatch, again,
the crew module side hatch, let's take some questions now.
Sounds good.
A lot has changed since Apollo, and I have a few questions about what's next.
What part of the Moon are we exploring through Artemis, and what are some of the key points
that NASA needs to consider when planning missions like this.
Were you expecting to see Scarlett Johansson?
I think that took you.
Yeah, I mean, we've talked about this,
but everybody has an interest in this mission.
It's humanity trying to explore and go back to the moon.
And I love this question.
What part of the moon are we going to?
Eventually, we want to get to the polar regions,
the south pole specifically.
We think that there are volatiles there,
so water ice, something that can be harnessed as a resource
as we create the permanent base on the moon
and then try to get on to Mars.
But getting to the moon is a tricky mission.
We're going further than we have in a long time.
And on the International Space Station,
we're 250 miles from the Earth.
And so we're pretty close.
We resupply that spacecraft pretty often with cargo
missions.
But the further and further you get away from Earth,
the more you have to think about the lack of cargo,
the calm delay.
There's a communication delay the further away you get.
And so there are different and unique problems
as we continue to explore further and further out
into this solar system.
And there is so much to learn about the moon.
So it's no surprise that, yes,
even though our goal is to have a moon base
at the lunar south pole, the lunar south pole
is not the main focus of this lunar flyby.
So instead, the crew is gonna be focused
on observing the far side of the moon.
So this is actually an animation
of what teams expect the moon to look like
if the crew launches today.
So this is of course the side that faces the moon
And this is the far side of the moon, which when, again,
the crew does their lunar flyby on flight day six,
we are expecting this will be their view.
What an amazing view and an opportunity.
Yeah, you know, there's so much to learn
from this particular mission,
because obviously we're not landing with this mission.
And so they actually potentially could see the south pole
and kind of scope out what our landing regions look like
in the context of the entire moon.
But also they're gonna see parts of the lunar surface
have never been seen before by the human eye.
And so they're going to take these detailed notes.
They're going to record themselves talking
about what they see.
We do a ton of geology training as astronauts,
especially this Artemis-2 crew.
They did a ton of geology training,
working with scientists to learn how to pick out
the unique portions that we want to go study.
What is the context of the moon?
What parts of the moon look interesting and look different?
The impact craters that we talked about earlier.
So really trying to take all the pictures,
take all the observations right down, talk about their observations, and record as much
data as we possibly can for the researchers back here on Earth.
Yeah, it's so important to, yes, we're all talking about what they hope to do during
this 10-day mission, but you really do have to think about all the training that goes
into this.
I mean, you have four crew members who won't, you know, have the support the way that they've
been having this, I mean, they'll be talking through communications, but you know what
I mean, it's just them and the moon, right?
So they need to be fully aware and equipped with everything
that they'll need to do to be able to accomplish the objectives
that we hope to accomplish during this mission.
Right, and there's specific flyby around the moon,
you know, the lighting will be different
and the path will be different depending on when we launch.
If we launch today, it would be different from tomorrow.
And so, you know, they actually had to learn the geography
of the moon so that they can orient themselves
when they're on the backside of the moon,
because they're not gonna have communication, you know,
They're just going to have a, I think, 45 plus minute call
blackout while they're on the far side of the moon.
And so they themselves have to know what things look like
on the moon, how to orient themselves,
and how to get the data that we're looking for.
Yeah, really ambitious mission.
Excited to be here at the start of it.
All right, so another check of the clock.
Two hours, 57 minutes, and counting to the opening
of our two hour launch window for Artemis II.
This pivotal test flight comes 250 years
after America began its journey as a nation.
As we celebrate that milestone,
a special live performance now
of our national anthem by singer Ann Wilson.
["Sing and You Can Do It"]
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming
Whose broad stripes and bright stars
through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched
were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
gave through, through the night, that our flight was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
A beautiful rendition.
Honest, I am a little emotional, a little speechless.
that was gorgeous. Yeah. I mean, again, we are a nation of explorers, a nation of curious
minds. And to see us again, 250 years after our Declaration of Independence was signed
to when we are trying to return to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years,
really powerful. Yeah, leading the way back to the moon. It's exciting. And that's so
important to us, you know, we do want to be the leaders in exploration, but we definitely
know we can't do that alone. You know, we often hear NASA leadership say that, you know,
this is not something one nation can do. This is something that is a collaboration of nations,
and that's why we have European countries. We also have Canada, again, joining us on
this ambitious test flight.
Yeah, of course, you know, it goes back to the old proverb, if you want to go fast,
you go alone if you want to go far or you go together and we want to go far, we want
to get on to Mars eventually and so we're going to get to the moon first and you can't
do that alone.
So thank you again, singer Anne Wilson for that beautiful rendition, again reminding
us of what it is we are trying to accomplish for all by all.
We are now back inside the white room with the close out crew, again backup astronaut,
Andre Douglas, number two there, just outside in the white room,
which is right outside Orion there,
with the crew seated comfortably inside.
As you can see, they've dimmed the lights a little bit.
The crew has the opportunity to set the ambiance, if you will.
They were given the opportunity to adjust the lighting as they see fit again,
just so that they can get comfortable.
It's kind of like when we are on a plane
and you get the opportunity to...
Sure, yeah, you don't want the bright lights in your eyes.
Also, you want to be able to see the screens well
or see the tablet on Jeremy's knee well,
so they're gonna adjust the lighting
to what makes sense for the mission.
And we saw in that very quick shot there,
our best camera view of the two hatches
is actually that drag on camera,
like we were saying, that kind of moves around.
So sometimes it's hard to show that,
So there you have it.
You can see that the closeout crew has closed the side hatch.
And so right now, that's a panel that they
have to close out in order to then close the next hatch, which
is the launch abort system hatch.
And so, Nicole, can you just quickly, again, talk to people
about the two hatches, again, crew module first and then
the launch abort system hatch?
Yeah, so the crew module hatch is the one they're working on right now, they just got closed.
You can see he's twerking those bolts down.
And that is the hatch that completes the Orion capsule.
And then you have the launch abort system, which actually is kind of almost a shell that
goes around the capsule and holds on to the capsule during launch.
And it has its own separate engines that can pull the capsule away from the rocket safely
in the case of an off-nominal data point.
it's actually looking at roll rates and attitude and thrust and all sorts of different data in
order to make sure the launch is safe and if it's not then the launch abort system will pull the
crew module away and get them into a splashdown zone safely.
And as we wait for the crew to complete closing that side hatch of the crew module,
Let's head over back to Banana Creek where we have Leah Martin standing by
with the person who designed this mission's zero gravity indicator named
Rise. It was second-grader Lucas Yee from California. Hey Leah. Hey Megan. Yes, the
many special guests we have with us today. I think one of our most exciting
guests is Lucas who's joining us like you said all the way from California. He and
family actually worked this as a group project to design the zero gravity
indicator. Lucas, can you tell us a little bit about your design? Yeah. So you
named him Rise. Can you tell me why you picked that name? It was very remote
representing the Artemis II launch and Earthrise and yeah that's pretty much it.
So were you really excited to find out that you won the competition and that
your zero gravity indicator would be would be going to space? Yeah. So how does it feel? We're
actually just across the river right now from Artemis. We can see it from where we're standing.
How does it feel to know that design you created is actually currently on that rocket just a
couple hours away from going to space? Really, really, really, really, really, really surprised
and very happy and very happy now mom you're telling me on the way over here
that it was kind of hitting you what was happening tell me a little bit about
that it's definitely very surreal to be here in
it's definitely very surreal to be here in person
that commander weissman said that it's for all and by all that we couldn't have
said it better we're just very grateful to be
to be here super super excited and we're so excited to have you here too now
Oliver, this is your first launch too, is that right? Yeah, that's right. And how does it feel
to be here just a little bit away from watching the first group of astronauts in your lifetime
on their way to the moon? It feels like very happy and surprised. So if you had one word of
encouragement or something to say to the crew who's sitting on that rocket right now, what would
What would you say?
What?
Go Artemis.
Go Artemis.
Thanks so much, Megan.
I would say have a nice trip.
Yeah.
You would say have a nice trip.
I did hear that answer.
I would say have a nice trip.
You know, Leah, that was a hard question.
You know, it's really hard to come up with a spot.
What to say?
What do you say?
Who's about to make history today?
Yeah.
And so the Artemis II crew, again, ZGI zero gravity indicator.
It's a plushie, a soft toy that is brought in to the spacecraft with astronauts so that
it can be a visual indicator for when we have reached the weightless inner space, right?
Yeah, you saw a little replica there that Lucas had, and some of the views in the cabin
view, you could see it swinging and hanging earlier, so I think actually, Jenny was the
one who installed it into the capsule yesterday, yeah, so.
Oh, we have to unpack a lot here.
We got to talk about Jenny, who we will get to here in a second, but then, yes, we will
also go back into the capsule so that we can show you where the ZGI is now. But the ZGI
was chosen by the crew after a contest where the crew asked for submissions. They got submissions
from around the world to again design their ZGI that is going with them to the moon.
It's kind of like any other road trip. You need clothes, food, a map, your favorite
toy? Really? Except this toy has a job to do up there because this is a zero gravity indicator.
While not a scientific instrument, this safe and soft object tells the strapped-in astronauts
that they've reached weightlessness. For Artemis II, the crew wanted a one-of-a-kind ZGI, so we
asked you to come up with it. Thanks everyone for sending in your entries from around the world.
around the world, over 2,600 of you submitted.
And we loved seeing all of your contributions.
It was a really difficult decision
because each design had a unique quality
that stood out to our crew.
In the end, we were able to narrow it down to a top five
from Finland, Canada, Peru,
and two from the United States, Kansas, and California.
In the end, we went with one called Rise.
It was a design inspired by the Earthrise photo
taken on Apollo 8, which is very special to our crew.
With the winner chosen, next came the task of bringing it to life, here in the Thermal
Blanket Lab at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
This lab specializes in custom materials to protect sensitive spacecraft equipment
and is perfect for creating a ZGI that meets the rigorous safety standards of NASA.
Because you have to be concerned with whether the threat is going to out gas or if it will
hold up if it's flame retardant.
This is the Ryze G.I. doll.
All I have left to do is to close the opening here in hand so the hat on, make sure it's
stuffing is stuffed in there.
And we have our pocket here for the SD card.
And on that tiny SD card will be millions of names submitted to virtually join the crew
aboard Orion.
Got rise, not the real one, obviously, but this is a replica.
I mean, so clever for Lucas and his family to design.
Yeah, I love that he replicated the famous picture
that we all love of Earthrise.
And then I love that the bill represents the space
in between the moon and Earth.
It's just such a cute and wonderful way
to represent this mission.
Yeah, and again, Earthrise, very important to this crew.
It harkens back to the picture that was taken
by the Apollo 8 crew where they saw Earthrise.
And so very appropriate since again now here we are going
to see Earthrise again with this mission.
So yeah, so this is little rise here.
And then you heard in that video that there is an SD card
that is zipped inside with the real ZGI with the crew.
So get this, more than 5 million people submitted their names
as part of NASA's Ascend Your Name to Space campaign.
And actually, Christina said that her niece
and nephew's names are inside that have taken part.
How cool is that?
Her nieces and nephews are going to go with her.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Love this.
Love that people are engaging in such a cool way.
And actually, if we take a look back inside of Orion,
we can actually see the actual ZGI inside with the crew.
As we said, the purpose of a zero gravity indicator
is to show when we've reached the weightlessness of space.
Now, I know that it's probably dark in there,
because as we said, the crew decided to just dim it a little bit for them.
But here again, as we see, read on your left, Victor on your right,
blow Victor, or next to Victor again, because they're on their back.
It's a little weird.
It's a little hard to explain the orientation.
but between basically Victor and Christina is where Jenny Gibbons has placed the zero gravity
indicator and Jenny who again Nicole just brought up Jenny is one of the backup crew members so we
mentioned how Andre is the backup crew member for the NASA astronauts Jenny is the backup crew
member for Jeremy. Yeah Jenny's one of our Canadian astronauts and yeah so she's been also helping
with preparations for today and helping the get the white room ready get the caps
already and she's actually going to be a cap cop for Artemis 2 as well.
Yeah she's from Calgary Alberta completed astronaut training in 2020
mechanical engineer combustion scientist and actually before becoming an
astronaut she was an assistant professor so again another
very well accomplished person on the team and I know the Artemis 2 crew has
has really enjoyed working alongside both Andre and Jenny.
Yeah, actually Jenny was our E.B.Q. mentor
for when I went through our S.Canner initial training,
so she helped us with all our spacewalk training,
which was kind of cool as well.
Okay, and there we have Andre again,
number two with the rest of the closeout crew team there.
Why don't we get another check with Daryl
and see how the launch countdown is going.
Still going quite smoothly here from firing room one,
at the Kennedy Space Center launch team working no major constraints to launch, which is great news.
We did get an update on a weather balloon that the launch weather officer and his team released.
This is an important weather balloon released at the right around the three-hour mark,
and what it told us is that winds are around 10 to 11 knots in the upper parts of the atmosphere.
That's important information for the launch abort system.
Should the astronauts need the last, this would of course pull the Orion spacecraft off the
top of the rocket in case there were an emergency and then take them off shore to a water landing
in the Atlantic Ocean. And so the winds are pushing on shore and because they're pushing on shore
And the launch weather officer is keeping a close eye on the strength of those winds
because if the Orion were to come off the top and it's powered by three rocket motors,
which can propel it or pull it especially fast off the top of the rocket,
it would go up into the air at thousands of feet and then splash down on the water.
And if you've got wind pushing against it, you don't want that spacecraft to come back
and land on land.
So they're watching that very closely because of the onshore flow.
That onshore flow is also what's given us a little weather action down to the
south of us along what's called the beach line 528. We've got a whole lot of
people out there getting ready to watch the Artemis II historic launch. Well
they just got a good soaking, a line of storms, a line of rain showers I should
say, pass through that area and soak the place. So certainly rain is a
a possibility spotty showers from time to time.
But overall, the launch weather officer tells us
that we are trending towards getting that stuff
to all push to the West the closer we get
to our launch window.
A reminder that window is from 6.24 PM to 8.24 PM Eastern time.
We don't have a specific T zero at this moment.
There's a lot that needs to be calculated
before we get there.
We also need to get through the rest of the countdown
on time. As of right now, we are right on time. The launch countdown is going exactly as planned.
That's not something that we saw, certainly in Artemis 1. There's a lot of flexing in the timeline
during those three launch attempts back in 2022. But so far today, on our first launch attempt,
we're really enjoying some really solid countdown work, some solid operations by the launch team
so far. And to quote our friend Lucas who invited, who created Earthrise, we all really,
really, really, really, really, really, really like that. We'll send it back to the host desk.
Thanks so much, Darrell. Yes, we really, really, really like that and we really,
really like Rise and Lucas, so thank you for that. That was really cute. Okay, so again, here we are
In the big box here we have our full view of the rocket looking glorious on
there with again some clouds but still weather is good for launch today and
then we have the closeout team continuing to do work in the white room. We
got confirmation that they have successfully completed pressurizing the
counterbalance pressurization basically as Darrell explained it before the side
hatch for the crew module is very heavy so in order to open it there needs to be
pressure applied to it and that's what we just completed right right that's
exactly it so the cba that counterbalance similar that we're talking
about has to be pressurized it's a pneumatic system to help so in the case
of an egress you know Christine is the one that has to open that hatch so once
she gets it unlatched and unlocked, then that pneumatic system will help move the hatch.
It weighs a lot, and so the average human cannot open that hatch by themselves.
And so that's why we want to make sure that the system is pressurized, that it's not
going to leak, and that it is ready to go in case they need to open the hatch.
So that is complete, and now what is happening are the seal leak checks.
So that is in progress.
Again, two seals go through the entirety of the hatch.
And we will take the seals to pressure,
hold it for about a minute, and just make sure
that it is holding pressure.
Again, we want to make sure that the crew has a safe,
pressurized environment in any sort of situation
while they're in Orion.
Yep, that's right.
So we're going to take a look at it.
We're going to take a look at the starting pressure,
and then after a certain amount of time,
we'll take a look at the ending pressure,
and then there are certain tolerances
that we will accept for our flight.
Two hours, 37 minutes and counting
from the opening of our two hour launch window today
at 6.24 p.m. Eastern time.
After a lift off, it takes less than 10 minutes
to reach Earth's orbit.
Let's learn more about today's ascent profile
with Gary and Mission Control.
Hey, Megan, we are monitoring here in Mission Control Houston.
Flight controllers are looking at data from integrity
in the space launch system during the countdown.
We're looking at some of the events happening
in the White Room now and just making sure
that all criteria is met to commit to launch an ASCEN today.
It's the team you see in this room that would be looking
after ASCEN, which is a very dynamic phase of flight.
And after Solid Rocket Booster ignition
of the space launch system, it's this team
that takes over control of the mission.
There are voices you'll hear upon ascent,
calls being relayed between Stan Love, the Capcom you see here
in this shot in Mission Control Houston,
that's the voice from this room, and the Artemis II crew
on a communications channel aptly named Orion to IRV.
Here are the calls you may hear during this part of the mission.
Capcom, Stan Love, his first call after responding
to the crew's successful roll pitch maneuver
at 30 seconds is AMT High.
This notes that should we lose just one of the main engines,
an alternate mission in low earth orbit can still be achieved.
At one minute 25 seconds, we'll hear Max Q on PDL.
This notes that reaching the moment,
this notes reaching the moment
of maximum dynamic pressure on the spacecraft.
This event happens to be in line with a communication switch
to another ground station.
The Ponsidilion Inlet Tracking Annex located
about 35 miles north of Kennedy.
At 2 minutes 45 seconds, you'll hear SM-primed upper stage RCS ready.
This means that the European Service Module Propulsion System that's prepared for the
next phase of aborts after the Launch Abort System jettisons and the Reaction Control
Trusters on the inner-in cryogenic propulsion stage that enable pointing and maneuvering
already.
At 3 minutes 50 seconds, you'll hear voice check on TDRS at the Carmen line.
At this point, the Launch Abort System has jettisoned and revealed the Orion capsule
underneath.
This check verifies that the now exposed Orion antennas have a good signal over the tracking
and data relay annex, tracking and daily relay satellites rather, which is part of the geosynchronous
satellite network and the same assets that are used aboard the International Space Station.
This communications switch happens to be at the Karman Line, a widely recognized boundary
about 62 miles, statute miles, or 100 kilometers above the Earth's surface where the air is
too thin for conventional aircraft to fly and marks the point where our astronauts leave Earth
and enter space. At 5 minutes 16 seconds you'll hear the call three engine press. This notes that
if one of the four main engines on the SLS core stage were to fail, three engines can carry the
crew to a nominal main engine cutoff and proceed with the expected mission timeline. This is an
important call that gives more assurance of continuing today's moon mission. At seven minutes
you'll hear expect nominal shutdown. You'll hear this call should the main
engine performance be as expected up to this point. Shutdown plans can vary and
may impact G-forces experienced by the crew or future burn plans but a nominal
shutdown is more indicative of continuing the mission on the expected
timeline. At 7 minutes 30 seconds you'll hear A-O-A open. This notes crossing
into a new abort profile. At this point an abort would use Orion engines to
escape the core stage and the altitude and velocity are enough to make it one
lap around the Earth and aim for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean instead of the Atlantic.
And then, of course, shortly after eight minutes, you'll hear Nominal Miko.
You won't hear Miko right away.
Teams here wait until the core stage has separated and the trajectory is confirmed as expected
before that call to the crew.
Now, this Ascent Profile is approximate as there may be calls that move a few seconds
depending on the trajectory.
And of course, these are the calls and times for a Nominal trajectory.
in this room have been training extensively to prepare for any and all scenarios, and
they are confident and ready to take this crew into space today.
In today's pre-brief, the flight director, Judd Freedling, expressed his confidence to
the team, citing the hundreds of simulations to prepare for this very moment.
These are the calls we will hear during ASCENSE less than three hours from now, but now we'll
turn our attention to the countdown to launch.
And send it back to you, Megan, at the Space Ghost.
Thanks so much, Gary.
Now one of today's four astronauts of course Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Let's go now to Jasmine with her next guest
So much Megan. Yeah, we're joining you live now from the operation support building here at Kennedy where crowds are starting to gather
And we're honored to have Lisa Campbell of the Canadian Space Agency joining us
Lisa Jeremy Hansen is about to make history as the first Canadian to venture to the moon. What does that milestone mean for your agency?
Thanks so much, Jasmine. It's wonderful to be here. It's such a special moment both for our astronaut colleague Jeremy Hansen, but also for Canada.
We're here because of decades of public investment in space robotics, in space collaboration, and so for our country we're very proud.
He's so ready. He's been waiting for this his whole life, preparing training, and he's a wonderful example of Canada.
Yeah, and that's a perfect way to capture Jeremy.
He really has been prepping for this, his whole life.
This will be his first space flight.
So what has it been like watching him become
part of this Artemis II crew?
Well, as I mentioned to you, I've known Jeremy since 2020.
And he's a colonel, a fighter pilot, a father.
And he really is a very dedicated, passionate human being.
So both for him to realize this goal of being
an astronaut and flying, he also is
hopeful that witnessing that will raise awareness about the value of a space program, of the
benefits here on Earth, of exploring the universe and our place in it.
Wow, that's beautifully said.
And really this international collaboration has been going on for quite some time now.
We've worked together in low Earth orbit and now going into deep space together.
So why is it so important that we have these international partnerships?
It makes us stronger.
We can go faster and further together.
Canada's one of the original signatories of the Artemis Accords and Canada and the United
States have been partnered for more than 60 years in space. Wow that's that is
phenomenal Lisa and this really is a team effort in many ways we also have
Jenny Gibbons she'll be listening in on Capcom what is her role going to be like?
So Dr. Jenny Gibbons has been training all along as the Canadian backup with the
Prime Crew. Last night she was in the Orion capsule checking out all of the
communications making sure all the systems test out and work perfectly and
then she will be among the first lunar Capcom helping the astronauts navigate
during the mission. Well Lisa that is so exciting. Any final words for the nation
of Canada before today's mission? Jess we are so proud, so excited, and we can't
wait to welcome Jeremy home. Fantastic. Lisa Campbell, thank you so much for
being here today. Thank you Jess. Of course and with that let's get back to
NASA's Megan Kruse.
And right now, go ahead, ma'am,
you see any drop in pressure?
And MS-1, we saw just a little bit.
It is just over 2,600 now.
Thank you ma'am.
Again, a call out to Mission Specialist, Christina Cook.
Again, it was her responsibility to monitor the pressure
on the counterbalance system that will help open the side
hatch.
And she did report a drop in pressure,
but it seems like it's within nominal limits.
Right.
They might have had a small drop, but we have a starting
pressure and an ending pressure.
And as long as the difference isn't too high,
then we will take that.
And the engineers know exactly what they're looking for
in terms of that delta pressure.
And so again, that milestone on the checklist of things
that have to happen before they launch today,
that is complete.
The crew, again still inside comfortably
as the closeout crew team work to close the side hatch.
Again, a separate seal leak check
followed by a full cabin leak check
and then they will close the last abort system hatch.
Lots to do still in the white room
and marching towards the countdown timeline well.
And so Bill again, number three there,
he is holding a silver flex hose.
That hose is what will be connected to Orion
in order to do that cabin leak check.
So, again, it does seem like we continue to march down
through the milestones in this countdown.
Hopefully, lifting off today within our two-hour launch window,
that opens at 6.24 p.m.
Now, right now, people inside the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex are learning
about this mission.
There are great exhibits there about the rocket and Orion,
and, of course, our Megan Carter with the moon board.
All right, Megan and Nicole, yeah, you mentioned that checklist before launch.
That checklist is going to continue during the mission as well as there are several
vital objectives that we are hoping to accomplish with this mission.
So we've talked about the rocket.
We've talked a little bit about Orion.
Obviously, during Artemis 1, we had that, we had that test flight and there were no
humans on board.
That is our one big difference for this one and we are going to have that crew this time.
So what are they going to be up to during this mission?
let me tell you just a little bit.
Now for Artemis-1, like I mentioned,
we were really focused on the SLS,
making sure it had the power and capabilities
that we needed.
We were also checking out the Orion spacecraft
in deep space environments,
making sure that it was good to go.
Now for Artemis-2, we are going to be taking
the testing for Orion to the next level
by adding that human component.
So those test objectives are going to start
even before launch, like you mentioned,
they are out there making their way through that checklist.
But these objectives are going to start now.
And that includes safety.
So one really great example of safety
is going to be something called the egress baskets.
They're out there in the spacecraft, obviously,
and should a situation happen to come up,
they are going to have something called the egress baskets
they can get in, and those are going to zip line them
essentially down to the ground within seconds to safety.
Another great example of those safety procedures
are going to be the LAS, or the launch abort system
that I mentioned earlier.
Just a reminder, that's the one that can pull the crew
and capsule away from any danger
within a few minutes of into the launch.
Now, those are just a couple quick examples,
but our recovery teams have been training extensively
quite a lot to make sure that they are ready
and prepared for any challenging situation
that could possibly arise.
All right, several other objectives
that we are going to be looking at
are also going to be communication checkouts.
That is going to be vital.
I know we talked a little bit earlier about all the maneuvering that they're
going to be able to do,
but we want to make sure that they have full communication ability from space
to ground so that we can fully support them here.
We are also going to be checking out those life support systems.
Obviously we've talked a lot about the service module and what it is going to do
for the crew, but we want to make sure that those life support systems are
fully functioning obviously before we send them farther into deep space.
That's going to be critical for them.
So, on top of being able to maneuver the spacecraft and check everything out, we are also going
to be making sure that everything is fully functioning.
So as you can see, big, big, big part of this mission is to make sure that the spacecraft,
the hardware, and all the operations are working and that the data is going to make sense.
And speaking of recovery, we are also going to have the opportunity at Splashdown to recover
that launch in for that that flight data and we're going to be able to take that back analyze it and make sure there are if there are any enhancements we need or changes we need to make before our next missions will be able to do so.
So lots they're going to still have lots to do. They're just very busy obviously. And with that I will turn it back over to you Megan.
Two hours 25 minutes and counting and the crowd check it out continues to grow at our Banana Creek viewing location.
They will have a great view of launch and we will go back now to Leah Martin who's standing with her next guests
Hey Megan yeah, we're surrounded by thousands of people some here local from the space coast
But we actually have quite a few people who have traveled a pretty far distance to be with us today
I'm actually joined here by group of from the
International Space Station
Ambassadors program who've come from all over the all over the globe second year here from
from Japan, you've come down from Mexico, and then we have brother and sister Cosma
and Jessica here who are visiting from Germany.
You actually told me that you participated in the NASA rover challenge in Huntsville.
How was that experience and how is it kind of participating there in Alabama than being
here today?
So, it is an amazing experience because you meet so many young people with visions, with
dreams, with ideas which inspire you and motivate you.
And it's even better to be here now to see the SLS launch because we are going back to
the moon and that's what we're working for.
Absolutely.
And you know the Artemis missions, we talked a lot about the Artemis Accords and this being
an international effort.
You were actually telling me that you're interested in becoming an astronaut with JAXA pursuing
your PhD to be able to do that.
Tell me a little bit about that.
It's actually a pride for Japanese space agency that astronaut selection like two years
ago and then I didn't make it all the way but I'm still working on it and hopefully I can get the
launch but sometime and then I hope to go back to the moon and Mars and yeah I'm working on it.
Absolutely incredible and Val, your your ear from Mexico. We were talking a little bit about women
in space. This is a team who you know is probably made up of women. What is it like knowing that
Christine is on that rocket right now about to be the first woman to travel around the moon?
I think that's such an amazing news. It's just so inspiring that we are taking the first black
person and also the first woman to the moon. It's just the first step in humanity and a big
step in equality as well. Megan, a lot of excitement here. Not just in Florida but from
around the globe. We're keeping our eye on that rocket and we're ready to see it lift off.
Thanks Leah. Yeah, a lot of excitement but also a lot of inspiration. Again, this is part of a
That could be 1, 3, 0, decimal 6.
Good.
Read back.
Offs 1 voltage, 1 at 3, 1 decimal 3.
That could be 1, 3, 1, decimal 3.
Again, those numbers you hear, they're referring to specific steps
in the launch countdown that the crew have to step through in order
to get us to launch today.
And so, we were saying, yes, inspiration, a big part of why NASA does what it does.
We want to go together and we want to explore together to learn more about ourselves and here on Earth.
Yeah, humans I think naturally want to explore and so going together, like Lisa said earlier,
we're going to go farther and faster than we possibly can alone.
And, you know, what a better, what a way to celebrate that today.
Yeah.
Going back to the moon in the first time in over half a century.
Then we have that great shot there in our small box of the rocket on the pad and at the very top there are Artemis 2 crew right now we know that the crew has begun the closeout crew has begun doing that cabin leak check so they are currently pressurizing the cabin and it sounded like it would take about 6 to 8 minutes for them to get to pressure and then they have to hold that pressure for 5 minutes right?
That's right.
Yes, that's correct.
Yeah, so it was quite a bit of volume.
You know, we talked about it being a six-person tent.
I think it's 330 cubic feet.
Don't quote me on that number, but, you know,
they have to pressurize that capsule.
And then, like we talked about, take that initial pressure,
wait five minutes, and then take the second pressure.
Yeah, and then it takes about six to eight minutes, again,
to depressurize the cabin.
So this process will take a few minutes.
OTC accident search configuration complete.
OTC copies.
Thank you.
And then after the cabin leak checks,
then they will finally close the last abort system hatch.
So again, chugging along in the countdown,
really excited to again continue to hear the crew's voice
inside Orion, stepping through all the procedures.
Yes, it's exciting to hear them making progress, right?
It's all good news hearing the crew talk to the ground
and working together to get to the launch.
And what I think is really cool is that this is the first
NASA is going to have astronauts in lower Earth orbit, but also in deep space at the moon.
So here's a message from some of the crew aboard the International Space Station right now.
Hello, Megan, and a big hello to everyone around the world, counting down together to the launch
of this historic flight test. If we weren't in microgravity, we would also be on the edge of our
seats. Here on the International Space Station, all of us are honored to have the chance to wish
our fellow explorers, Godspeed. Throughout human history, the moon has sparked our imagination,
curiosity, and wonder. With our return to the moon, we're not only going to be learning about its
history, the history of our solar system, and of our planet, but also about our place in the cosmos.
We are so proud of the Artemis team and so excited for what we will see and learn on behalf of all
of humanity during your trip around the moon. As we push the boundaries of exploration and expand
our knowledge with scientific discovery, we advance our collective civilization together
as one.
Test flights are crucial to the mission of exploration.
We all learn in test flight schools that the more challenging the missions are, the more
incremental the test should be.
The Sardimus II mission is one more increment on the way to further exploration.
Thank you to the crew.
Our friends for your dedication and from the entire Expedition 74 crew, thank you to all
of the teams that have hand in getting the Artemis II mission to where it is today.
Back to you, Megan, as the countdown continues.
Oh, I love that so much.
I just love seeing them there.
And again, you have to remember that the International Space Station is an orbiting lab.
We learned so much there and we're going to learn so much more from Artemis 2 because
this isn't just a test flight, it's an opportunity to learn more about the moon, deep space,
and how humans can live and work so far from home.
So here are some of the science objectives that NASA hopes to accomplish with Artemis
2.
Artemis 2 is our return of humans to the moon, flying around the moon on board Orion, but
along with that we're doing a lot of great science.
One of the exciting things about the Artemis missions to the moon is that science is actually
a fundamental pillar of why we explore, why we're going, what we're doing in Artemis.
I think it's incredibly exciting that not only are we testing the vehicle, but we're
testing science on board.
Science where the astronauts are conducting experiments, science writing along with the
astronauts.
We have astronauts looking outside the window and really observing the lunar surface.
It will help us understand the deep space environment, it will help us understand how
that environment affects our astronauts, our systems, and life in general.
So deep space is a challenge for us because you have to leave Earth's protective magnetic
field.
Here in low Earth orbit, the crew members are protected from some of the harmful radiation.
Going to the moon, they'll no longer be protected, so they'll have a higher radiation exposure.
Much like the Artemis-1, we have so many radiation sensors and detectors that are inside the
capsule so that we can fully understand and appreciate the radiation environment for protecting
our astronauts.
In my hand here, I'm holding a tissue chip model.
This is the exact design that's going to be flying alongside the astronauts.
We'll be collecting samples from each of the crew members and we can make these organ
chips out of the astronauts themselves.
So every crew member will have their own avatar on board and then upon return we can evaluate
deep space radiation environment and what that compares to the astronaut
themselves. Not only are they going to help change the course of medicine for
the astronauts but revolutionizing that on Earth as well. We're looking at sleep,
we're looking at team dynamics, we're looking at how you interact with the
environment. We're also looking at the immune system so what are the biomarkers
we're using saliva as a method to study hormones and different things in your
body that may change during a mission like this. And then finally, how do we
function after microgravity, you know, being close to the moon then returning to
Earth? Which will ultimately help us achieve our goal of getting humans to Mars.
And then on top of that, we have an opportunity to look at the moon from
deep space on the far side for the first time in over 50 years.
Having human eyeballs and brains back around the moon is going to unlock a
a new generation of lunar science discovery.
The human eyeball is capable of taking in so much data
in just a split second.
It'll be able to tackle impact history, volcanic history.
They'll be able to look at how the albedo,
or kind of the shade and the hue of the moon
and the color of the moon can tell us something
about how that terrain evolved over time.
We're integrating science in ways
that have never been integrated into human exploration before.
We have a front room mission control flight controller
position called the science officer.
We have a brand new science back room, where it's basically our brain trust of lunar scientists
and geologists supporting the crews of the future, and Artemis II will allow us to really
test how this works so that future missions are really set up for success.
We'll also be deploying some CubeSats, their small shoebox-sized spacecraft of their own.
They're each provided by another country, one of our partners.
As they conduct their research, they'll complement what we are doing at the Moon with Orion.
It is so incredibly exciting to be a part of this mission.
It has been really one of the privileges of a lifetime.
I can see the work I'm doing benefit crew members right now
and benefit the crew members and the teachers.
So it's incredibly exciting and it's very rewarding.
As this rocket launches humanity off of the earth,
we'll be setting the stage through our science
to prepare humanity to leave Earth
and explore the solar system.
And what we learned during this and future Artemis missions to the moon will eventually
get us to Mars.
Here's Jasmine Hopkins again now with Nikki Fox, Associate Administrator of NASA's Science
Mission Directorate.
Thanks so much, Megan.
Yes, we're back on the balcony now, joined by Dr. Nikki Fox.
Nikki, in this nearly 10-day mission, we are covering a lot of science from cubes,
stats, to tissue chips.
What are you most looking forward to learning?
Oh, my goodness.
I think for me, the most exciting thing is actually being able to interact with the crew
while they are flying, doing this historic journey on the far side of the moon.
They are going to be seeing pieces of the moon that no human eyes have seen before,
which is really spectacular.
It's going to be an interesting trajectory.
Some of it is in darkness.
Then at the terminator, in darkness, they'll be able to look for impact flashes and things
when micrometeorites plumb all that poor moon and then at the terminator they can see shadows
and interesting things which kind of gives you depth perception and then of course in the sun
lit picking out everyone's favorite craters also if we launch today or tomorrow they will see a
total solar eclipse from the Orion capsule how cool is that that is very cool we are thrilled
for this Artemis 2 crew to be able to see the moon in a way that we've never seen before
what is so unique about that far side? Why are we going there? I mean honestly it's just it is
unique. It's very different to the near side of the moon. The actual sort of terrain, the morphology,
it's very very different and so it will be very exciting to see that as we're going past that.
Absolutely and Nikki, you know we are performing a lot of science at the moon this year actually
not just Artemis II. Can you speak to the commercial lunar landers we're planning to send?
Yes, we are very, very proud of our commercial partners as they take our payloads for us
to the lunar surface and very excited next one up is Blue Origins, Blue Moon, Mark 1.
Going, it's got some science on it, it's got the scalps that went on the Blue Ghost, so
we'll be able to sort of look at that plume as it's coming down onto the lunar surface
and then also the laser retroreflector that will be the, you know, the array that's up there too.
So even on that first test flight, packing it with science as much as we can.
Wow, Nikki, so much science. It's hard to keep track of everything,
but the unique thing about our MIS-2 is we're sending crew. Can you speak to the importance
of the human element of science? Absolutely. I mean, that, you know, we can program,
like we do with our beautiful rovers on Mars, we can program them to do certain things,
and it's what we think we need them to do.
When you have an astronaut up there,
they can make that sort of like really unique split second decision.
The thing I'm most looking forward to is when, you know,
when they think they're going to be looking here,
it's hearing one of them say, oh my goodness, look over there.
And I think that's just incredible about how we do that.
Also, flying our tissue chips with the astronauts,
our avatar experiment, here we go, avatar.
And that's got the tissue chips,
samples matched to the crew so we'll be able to monitor the effects of microgravity and
radiation on that human tissue as we prepare for more and more missions to the moon for
longer and longer durations and then off to Mars.
Wow, Nikki, so much science ahead of us.
But first, we have to launch.
Thank you so much for being here today.
Thank you so much.
Go, Artemis.
Of course, go, Artemis.
And with that, let's turn it back over to the countdown with NASA's Megan Cruz.
Nikki is so fun, she has so much energy and so much passion about the science and and again
Yeah, it's just so important to remember that so much science is happening with this mission
It's not just to test out the hardware and the life support systems. Yeah, you know
You saw the science video and then we talked to Nick, man, there's so much going on, right?
We talked a little bit about the lunar observations that we're gonna do
And then you know, she talked about made a really great point about you know
that the human eye can pick things out
that a camera or a robot can't necessarily pick out.
And so that's why we're sending humans,
but also we're not just doing the lunar observations.
The avatar, that's a really cool experiment.
They took blood samples from the crew
and then they use those stem cells to make bone marrow
and create those little avatar chips,
which feels like sci-fi movie stuff.
But we're gonna look at radiation,
we're gonna look at all sorts of different
scientific experiments, we got the little CubeSats,
we're gonna go look at space weather,
Lots going on.
Yeah, even selecting some of the astronauts saliva,
you can learn a lot about the body through the saliva.
So just really a lot in a small amount of time
in a small capsule.
Yeah, you know, scientific discovery,
that's why we go back to the man.
Yeah.
And so again, her energy just so,
oh my God, I can't find the word.
So, awesome.
Wonderful.
Good, I don't know why I couldn't find the word.
So anyway, yeah, just really again,
Thank you Dr. Nicky Fox and Jasmine and so Nicole,
what about answering more questions?
Let's do it.
Okay, great.
First one, what was the word I was trying to get at?
No, no, no, I'm kidding.
Let's have the first question up on the screen now.
I know we got them.
I see them being asked.
And CDR, OPC or NRS1?
Go.
For your awareness, Berber-Fakling is about to be restarted.
Thank you, Secretary Cummings.
All right, let's try that again. Can we get the next social question, please?
What are the G-forces experienced by the Artemis astronauts during launch and reentry?
You know, these are actually pretty similar to, you know, a dragon launch or a shuttle launch.
You know, we have to accelerate to get out of the Earth's atmosphere and then, you know,
we talked about the secondary burns that they will do to get away from Earth, but, you know,
for me personally, I've kind of felt like we got slingshot it off the Earth is how I like to describe it.
So, you know, you get set back in your seat and the G forces are into your chest.
Go ahead.
We'll make check complete that cabin is going to be vented to flight pressure momentarily.
Integrity copies.
That's fantastic news. Again, so the spacecraft is holding pressure as expected,
and so now they will depressurize it, which will take about six to eight minutes.
Exciting.
Yes.
Yeah.
We talked about continuing to march towards the launch.
Yeah, so the G-forces are into your chest, and it's kind of a slow build, and you can
get all the way up to four, four and a half Gs into the chest during the launch, and often
they have to back off on the thrust a little bit so that you don't get too high in the
G-forces.
And especially as we go through kind of Max-Q or that Max aerodynamic force, so as they get
through the thicker parts of the atmosphere.
And then very similar G-forces on the way home.
So, a steady build up to about four and a half cheeses.
The rocket actually decelerates.
You know, you heard in one of the packages,
when they come back, they're going to be going seven miles
a second.
Gosh, that's incredible.
And so, you have to slow down somehow.
And to do that, you have to actually, you know,
when you break in a car, you feel those G-forces.
And so, for the astronauts, it will just be, again,
into the chest based on the orientation.
Great.
Thank you so much for that answer, Nicole,
and for that question.
We're going to continue to try to take as many as possible.
Again, you know how to send them to us at NASA Artemis.
But now we again have another question for you, for our audience.
We want to know what part of Artemis 2 are you most excited for?
Lift off.
Earth views from Orion, Lunar flyby, or Splashdown?
Tell us again on NASA's Instagram or Twitch accounts,
and we'll share your answers a little later in the broadcast.
That's a tough one.
I don't know what my answer would be.
I know.
I don't know either.
I'm excited for it all, but that's a cop-out.
All right, now let's head back over to Banana Creek again the crowds there really excited people coming from all over the country from around the world
Why don't we get another check with Lea Martin to see who she's caught up with now?
Well, Megan we were a little while ago talking to some students from around the globe.
Today we're actually talking to some local students who are from right here locally Merritt Island in Titusville.
We talk a lot about the Artemis generation and about the students who are going to become
the next generation of dreamers, of engineers, of scientists and technologists, and I'm
actually standing with a group of those students here today.
So our local high school has actually implemented a really neat new program in the spirit of
being able to create these pipelines for employment and engagement.
Can you tell me a little bit about what Merritt Island High School is doing?
Sure.
a new program, first of its kind here in Florida.
And basically what we are studying is
astronautics and aviation, kind of blended the two together.
We have flight simulators in our lab,
but students are also learning about
engineering, aerospace, engineering,
and we're trying to make all kinds of pathways
available for them, trying to give them opportunities
to see which pathway they might want to be interested in.
So yeah, just a great opportunity for them
to learn about space.
We just finished doing a whole model rocket build
where the students took CAD software,
developed their own rockets, put them together
and launched them right from our school.
So it was very exciting.
Incredible.
And then another local high school, Tidesville,
you guys also have a similar but slightly different program.
Yes, we do space megatronics with advanced manufacturing
of repairing students to build and manufacture things
to automate, do automation to build things on Mars
and things like that are locally too.
Now, you told me that you're actually trying to figure out a little bit what you want to
do when you're done your freshman in high school.
What things are you learning in your class here that are really kind of kind of tweaking
your interest in the aeronautics field?
So we're building a lot of things with like metal and how we're supposed to do it on the
rockets.
We're also doing computer programming, which would help with NASA and like programming
Encoding.
Absolutely.
And you were actually telling me that you actually
think were telling me that you're interested in becoming a pilot.
We talked a little bit about the pilot who is on board the rocket
right now.
How is this program preparing you for your future?
I mean, it's teaching me everything
that I know about aviation.
And it's really inspiring that I get to learn it in a classroom,
like locally as well.
It's amazing.
I love it.
And then you were also telling me
you're taking the class what's the most interesting thing
you've learned?
I really like the whole design part of it, like actually like engineering, like because
I want to be an engineer, engineering the products we use when we build stuff.
That's definitely my favorite part, learning how to use those kind of softwares.
Absolutely.
Well, Megan, when they're seasoned NASA employees, you'll be able to say that you saw them here
first when they were still in high school, back to you at the desk.
I can also say that they have fans, Nicole Ayers here, as soon as that girl said that
she wants to be a pilot, Nicole went,
Yeah, why why is that something that's so thrilling for you to hear? I mean I love when when kids in high school have goals and they set their goals high and they want to go do something you know that the kid who wanted to be an engineer or a pilot like I love that you know find something that you're passionate about go work hard at it and go get good at it.
Yeah, and speaking of passion, I mean, we definitely have a whole bunch of people here passionate about what NASA is doing here again, the lawn behind us just filled with media from around the world, making sure that they can help tell our story to everyone who is interested in hearing it.
So back here in Florida, of course, we have NASA leadership also keeping a close eye on
launch operations.
Let's go now to Jasmine Hopkins, who is standing by with Lori Glaze, Acting Associate Administrator
of NASA's Exploration Systems Development.
Thanks so much, Megan.
Yeah, we're honored to welcome Dr. Lori Glaze to the balcony now.
Lori, this is our very first time having crew on an Artemis mission.
How does that feel and how does that change our overall approach to the mission?
It's a really good question and it really came home today when we're watching the crew
walk out and then we saw them get into their van and go out to the pad and we've been watching
them getting into the crew module and so we've really put an enormous amount of rigor into
assuring the safety of our crew.
One of the most important things on this mission, different from Artemis 1, is we now have environmental
controls and life support systems.
One of the most important things we're going to do on this mission is test those out and
and make sure that we can keep our crew healthy and safe
throughout their mission.
We also on this mission have an activated launch abort system,
which we had the system for Artemis-1, but it wasn't active.
But we definitely had that active on this mission.
We want the ability, again, if something goes wrong
to be able to have that ability to abort
and get them back to the ground again safe.
Absolutely, Lori.
I mean, as you're driving home,
safety is paramount here at NASA.
And your program is responsible
for all of these Artemis elements.
We have the space launch system, Orion ground system,
so how do you get everybody cohesively
on the same page for a day like launch?
And that's a great question,
and it's really been wonderful
to watch our teams working together.
We have the ground systems,
which are kind of the bookends of our mission.
The ground systems help prepare us
to get the rocket ready to take off.
They're doing all of the loading of the tanks right now
and getting the crew into the Orion,
and then the backend, they'll be there to recover the crew
when they land in the ocean, but they know that their job is to make sure that that rocket
is ready to go and that the crew module is ready to go.
And then the rocket itself, the space launch systems, they know that their job is to deliver
the crew module to the right point in space so that they can conduct their mission.
And then again, they have to make sure that that everything is ready, that they set them
on the trajectory that is going to bring them around the moon and set them up to land in
the right place in the Pacific Ocean and that's their job and they know how
important that is and they have to work closely with Orion which again they
also have to work with all the other teams to make sure that everything's
working together and then on top of that are flight operations teams all the
people on the ground they're all working together they know this mission
doesn't work unless every single part of the mission works. Right Lori there are
so many things that have to work together today we can't wait to see what
What happens next?
Thank you so much for being here.
It's my pleasure.
Thank you.
Of course.
And with that, let's take it back to the countdown with NASA's Megan Cruz.
And speaking of the countdown, one hour 59 minutes and counting until the opening of
our two hour launch window at 6.24 p.m. Eastern time.
This is a shot of Jetty Park.
It's a nearby popular viewing location of rocket launches.
And it is so great to see how many people are here.
I mean, this is a Wednesday, like people had to take time off of school and off of work,
but it's something that they felt like they wanted to do to be here.
Yeah, you know, I think just based on the chatter on the airplane ride yesterday, half
of my airplane ride was, they were coming to see the launch.
You know, everybody's excited and traveling from all over the world to come see this launch.
And it really is a great day.
We had some sprinkles here in the crowd, but for the most part, I mean, it's just a beautiful
day to witness history.
It is.
A little bit of sprinkles, but for the most part, the clouds are staying away,
and you can see the blue sky behind us, so hoping for good weather in a couple hours.
Absolutely. And so Dr. Lori Glaze mentioned what we learned from the Artemis II mission helps pave the way
to sustained human presence on the lunar surface. So what are the objectives of this mission
to eventually accomplish that? Let's check in with Gary and Mission Control for more.
Thank you, Megan. Yes, the Ascent teams are here in Mission Control Houston working through
their steps to prepare for a go for launch. Right up here on the front board, we're watching
the teams in the White Room work through their checklist and closing the hatch as we verify
ours working as one NASA team. What Dr. Glaze said about working across the teams throughout
the nation is true. It takes one NASA team to bring everything together and accomplish
mission objectives. Artemis-2 is designed as the first crewed flight test flight of NASA's Artemis
campaign, sending astronauts into lunar space to validate systems, operations, and human performance
ahead of a more complex lunar landing missions. NASA has identified an extensive list of mission
and flight test objectives that serve as a checklist to verify the capabilities needed
to land humans on the moon. For the Artemis-2 mission, there are five overarching priorities
that cover the mission and flight test objectives. First is of course the crew.
As the first crewed mission inside the Orion spacecraft, this mission serves to demonstrate
the capability to safely sustain the flight crew throughout the mission, including launch,
the deep space component, and return. Number two is systems. This mission brings it all together
to validate the performance of all ground and flight systems needed for a long-term lunar
campaign from launch infrastructure to spacecraft operations in deep space.
Third is hardware and data. We'll be gathering performance data as much as possible over
the Deep Space Network, but we also aim to retrieve onboard data and hardware after
Splashdown to gather additional insight and improve future Artemis missions.
Fourth is emergency operations.
The crew and flight control team will be testing
emergency systems such as abort procedures,
rescue operations, and contingency responses.
During the flight, astronauts will rehearse
a number of these procedures to ensure that
in the event of a real emergency,
the planned procedures and operations are sound.
And finally, their subsystem validation.
Engineers will be verifying subsystems across the board
to ensure reliability across life support, propulsion,
avionics and navigation systems aboard the Orion spacecraft.
Human spaceflight is a complicated endeavor that requires precision and competence across
all disciplines.
You may hear the phrase, human spaceflight is the greatest team sport a few times in
today's coverage, and it's absolutely true.
Not only does it need mastery of specific components, but the integration extends across
thousands of people and facilities around the world to come together and make it all
work.
of the work from many people has led to this moment.
A rocket at the pad with humans on board,
ready to put everything we worked for to the test.
I'm certainly excited about it.
The teams here in this room are looking forward
to supporting the mission,
and I hope those watching are as excited as we are.
We are following the countdown here
in Mission Control Houston.
Everything continues to look good.
Now inside two hours from the beginning
of the launch window with that,
I will send it back over to you, Megan and Nicole.
Hey Gary, thank you so much.
We are getting word that the launch team is working something that we would like to give you an update on. So let's get on over to Darrell.
All right. Thank you, Megan. And we are live in firing room one here at the launch control complex. Yes, we are currently not working any constraints with regards to the rocket or the ground systems.
But the launch team has been made aware of an issue that the range is working.
And currently they're monitoring that work that is going on over at the range.
We understand that that issue is related to the flight termination system.
The flight termination system, just to give you a quick explainer,
every rocket has a flight termination system.
It's the system that the eastern range here uses in order to send a destruct signal to
a rocket in case it veers off path.
So it's a very critical, important safety component in terms of how the range keeps
the public safe here.
We understand that the flight termination system, they're working an issue.
So as they continue to work that issue, they've asked for some assistance from the launch team
to help verify some of the work that they're doing on their FTS system.
And this is where it gets a pretty unique situation here. The assistance they've asked for is to
verify what's going on with their system. They want to check it to see that the work they're
doing is okay and in order to do that the FTS console operator inside the firing
room has been asked to help them verify it and the way that they're going to do
that and the solution that he proposed to check and verify the system with a
launch reactor and she gave the approval is to go get a piece of heritage
equipment from inside the VAB that was used during the space shuttle program and this
equipment is able to receive commands by the range through the flight termination system.
And so with this piece of equipment, this console operator who works FTS was granted
permission to go and go over to the VAB next door and get this equipment that he's very
much aware of and and use during the space shuttle era and so that is in work
right now the bottom line of all this is at this moment the range is no go but
that is not stopping us from moving forward in the countdown we can continue
to process and work the countdown the closeout crew will continue to do their
work and and the launch team will continue to do their work as well but
We'll keep you updated on what happens in regards to as far as my understanding goes,
a pretty unique situation here with trying to bring resolution and kind of help
out the situation that we're seeing at the range right now.
And that's the latest here from the firing room.
I'll send it back to Megan and Nicole at the host desk.
Thank you, Darryl.
It's very unique, but I think it speaks to the ingenuity of this team, right?
to say, hey, we have this equipment at the VAB.
Why don't we leverage it to try to solve this issue and work it?
Yeah, what a great example of human creativity, right?
We know this thing exists.
Let's go solve this problem.
We have time.
Like Daryl said, we're going to continue
to march down the countdown.
So we'll continue to get the rocket and the crew ready,
but we still have that two hour window.
So in the meantime, let's try to figure out
what's happening with the range.
And speaking of the range, what is the range for people
who might not watch rocket launches with us?
Sure, yeah.
So anytime that you launch a rocket,
you have to clear the airspace in the launch corridor.
So where the rocket's flight path is going to go,
you have to make sure that that whole airspace is clear.
And so that we actually have assets,
the Space Force helps us out with this one,
but we wanna make sure that there aren't airplanes
in the way and there aren't other maritime assets
in the way or things like that.
So that there's a whole group of people,
we talked to actually, Gary said it great, right?
It's a huge team sport.
And so there's a whole group here on the ground
that is monitoring that launch corridor
to make sure it's clear and ready to go.
And so if they're having issues,
then we definitely can't launch this rocket.
We don't want to launch blind into a corridor
that we can't see.
Yeah, because as Darrell said,
I mean, it is very important,
the flight termination system needing to activate it
in case of an emergency.
So, yes, something that we will closely be monitoring throughout the countdown.
And hopefully, again, won't be an issue that they can fix this issue by going
to the Heritage Hardware that's in the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Right. What a great idea.
Okay. So, again, under two hours from the opening of our two-hour launch window,
6.24 p.m. Eastern Time, the crew, as you can see there, inside of Orion, relaxing,
getting updates from the team, but also just getting in the right headspace for, hopefully, launch today.
Let's learn a little more about each of them now.
The moon to me, it's the thing that connects me together with all the other humans in my life.
I remember being a little kid lying in bed at night and just looking out of the moon in whatever phase it was in, and I was thinking, man,
my friends that live like 20 miles away, they can probably look out and see that same exact moon.
And then when I was in the Navy, I would look out at the moon and I'd be halfway around
the planet and I would think, man, my brother can see that moon where he is and he's halfway
around the planet from where I am.
To me, it's a connection of life on Earth.
We could all look up and see that moon and it's always changing.
The moon is never the same two days in a row.
I love that.
My name is Reed Wiseman.
I'm the commander of NASA's Artemis II mission around the moon.
I grew up in a little town just north of Baltimore, Maryland, about 20 miles north of the city.
There was a national guard base nearby my house, and there were A-10 aircraft that would
fly over every now and then.
I just would look up at them and be like, man, I want to be up there.
I want to go do that.
And then my brother went to the Naval Academy, and I would go every year and watch the Blue
Angels fly during commencement.
And that just started to grow and grow and grow.
For a while, I wanted to join the Air Force, and then I realized Navy flies as well, and
they fly from ships to the middle of the ocean.
And that was it, like, a done deal for me.
That is exactly what I wanted to do for my career.
is freedom to me, especially when you're in a jet aircraft coming off of an aircraft carrier
in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Nearest land is over 1,500 miles away, so when you come off of that aircraft carrier,
you are truly just alone with yourself out there.
It is a magical experience to me out there all by yourself in the aircraft over in the
Pacific.
It's free.
I think anybody who accomplishes something that they set their mind out to, there's no
one thing that does it for them.
It's a combination of everything.
I mean, the way my parents raised me, the way my brother and I,
the way our relationship developed over time,
my friends being in the marching band,
going to college, setting my own course,
learning how to live on my own,
being mentored along the way,
being, you know, kept on their path to success,
but being given the freedom to, you know, make excursions
and fail every now and then and regroup and carry on.
I think all those things come together in the end
to get you where you are.
I've had to overcome, I mean, I'm a human being.
I've had to overcome a lot of fears.
I'm pretty scared of heights.
I joked about that on the International Space Station,
but it turns out I'm only scared
like at the edge of a building.
When you're up on the International Space Station,
even though you're 250 miles up,
I never had that feeling of falling
or that I was, you know, at risk up there.
I just kind of loved the feeling of floating
and looking down at Earth.
There have been challenges all throughout my life.
By far the biggest challenge was losing my wife
in 2020 to cancer and now raising two daughters
who are grown up now,
But that's been the biggest challenge by far I've ever had in the face.
It is not easy being an only parent, trying to work a full-time job,
and raising two kids is something that I think about every single day.
I'm very proud of the work I've done.
I haven't always done it well, but I've always shown up
and tried as hard as I possibly can.
I do wonder what it's going to be like when we are really far from Earth
and can see it.
The sensation of being so far away from everything that you know.
I had that sensation on the space station the first time I got to sit in the cupola
for a really long time, so I can only imagine what that's going to be like from 200,000
plus miles away.
My name is Victor Glover, and I'm the pilot for NASA's Artemis II mission around the
moon.
When I was in fourth grade, I was 10 years old, and that's when the Challenger accident
happened, and it helped me understand how the general public felt about the astronaut
right? Like, these are the people that we want to be, and that just gave me an easy thing to strive toward.
The biggest fear that I've had to overcome in my life is doubting myself.
Going to college when no one in my family had gone to college was a huge risk.
I had more confidence in my athletic ability than in my academic abilities.
I could play football with those college students that I saw on TV.
But my classmates that I saw in the lab and around the university union, I didn't know if I had what they had.
I think addressing that self-doubt was a part of, you know, swinging for the fence and trying to go get an engineering degree,
not just go to college, but get an engineering degree, and then go do something challenging and technical, like flying.
Apollo is known for sending humans to the moon.
Artemis has an opportunity to continue the Apollo story,
I actually think it's important for this story to stand on its own.
Artemis is a new program, and we're trying to do new things,
and it's great to compare and contrast.
When you look at our spaceship, you can see parts that were designed,
built, and integrated in another country.
When you look at our crew, you see that our crew is international.
There are also men and women,
and I just think that that comparing and contrasting makes the story even richer.
The piloting role specifically, I will have an hour and a half or so where I get to fly
the spacecraft by hand.
We haven't flown that many spaceships, and so the ability to fly one actually in space
on a test mission is just a really unique opportunity.
I can't tell you how I'm going to feel when we fly by the moon and see the moon up close
and the Earth from a quarter of a million miles away, but I don't use the word excited
because I'm focused.
focused. What we do, this is very serious and it's very risky and we are all intimately
familiar with that risk. And so if we go out there and we're successful and we can pass
that baton on to Artemis III, that's something to really be excited about.
I tell a story which is one that my dad told me before the Apollo missions and he was just
a very little boy. He was looking up at the moon with his mom and his mom said to him,
Don't worry, Ronnie, we'll never get there.
Fast forward maybe 70 years later,
it's his daughter that's actually going there.
And I think that long arc is something
that we can all learn from.
The idea that the seemingly impossible becomes possible
if you just believe in it and are willing to work hard
and come together to achieve it.
My name is Christina Cook,
and I'm a mission specialist
for NASA's Artemis II mission around the moon.
When I look back and my dreams as a kid, I definitely never thought I would actually
get here.
I was very pragmatic, even though I'm a dreamer, I knew that the odds were way against me again,
so I might as well do something I'm loving in the meantime.
I definitely loved science and math in school and, you know, did pretty well in those things,
but I also loved being active.
I was always outside.
I loved things that made me feel small.
I love looking at the night sky, often times between the pine tree branches or I love the
ocean.
North Carolina also has mountains and when we go there I just love the vastness of all
of those things.
I loved how they made me feel and what they made me think about in the vastness of the
universe and how much out there there was to learn.
I'm drawn to exploring, I'm drawn to challenges that involve both mental and physical and
I'd much rather be solving problems, wearing a whole lot of equipment and in a harsh environment
environment and that's just something I've cared with me ever since I was a kid.
Thinking about the fears or challenges that I've had to overcome, there are just so many.
I mean basically it's just been, that has been the journey.
I always say to people, do what scares you and that means I have to follow my own advice.
So doing what scares me meant getting on a plane and going to the Antarctic, getting
on a plane and going to study abroad in Ghana,
applying to become an astronaut,
opening the EVA hatch in the airlock
and going out of it into the darkness,
strapping myself onto a rocket.
And so for me, I think that no matter what the challenge,
recognizing that if people believe in you
and you believe they believe in you,
the challenges seem always a little bit easier.
To me, the moon, it represents history.
It is a witness plate.
Everything that's ever happened to the moon
is still written on the moon.
Every single person has looked at the moon their entire lives.
We see the same moon.
That's something really special.
It's just the epitome of a symbol of something
that's in each of our hearts,
but this also represents exploration and reaching.
I have this very distinct memory of seeing an image
of an astronaut standing on the moon.
It's burnt in my brain because I went back to it
so many times in my childhood and I would look at that image
and I know it had a huge impact on me
that humans had walked on the moon.
My name is Colonel Jeremy Hansen.
I'm an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency
and I'm a mission specialist
on NASA's Artemis II mission around the moon.
My elementary school years,
I grew up on a farm outside of London, Ontario.
I spent as much time as I could
with my dad on the farm.
I learned the value of hard work, for example.
If I wanted to go to work with dad,
it was gonna be a long day
and I was gonna have to not complain
or I wasn't gonna get to go the next day.
I had a tree house.
I had a vivid imagination
and I changed my tree house into a spaceship.
I made all these dials and controls.
I had circuit breakers for switches
that I found in the barn
and I was exploring space in my imagination.
The most important thing I did
to get to where I wanted to go in life,
which was flying fighter jets
and eventually becoming an astronaut,
is I shared those desires with other people.
And it turns out, just like you don't go to the moon
on your own, if you could, I would have done it
a long time ago in my tree house as a kid,
you have to go as a team.
I think the biggest impediment to achieving my goals
was, of course, myself.
And I think that's a common human experience.
There are many times where this little things
get in my way and my immediate interpretation of that was well now
that goal is out the window. You know people must have lifted me back up and
in somewhere in the back of my head that persistence came through and I think
that's a common human experience to doubt ourselves. I've come to this I guess
realization that I believe that we all have gifts to contribute and the goal is
is to figure out how to use your energy towards
adding positively to humanity's existence on this planet.
I love it when humanity sets big goals,
like sending humans to the surface of the moon
with an eye to eventually going to Mars,
because when we do that, we can bring together genius
from not just even in one country, but around the world.
I've also learned from my indigenous mentors
that they refer to the moon as grandmother moon.
So you've probably heard of Mother Earth
is Grandmother Moon because Grandmother Moon is responsible for the water in their community,
just like the moon moves the water around the planet, affects the tides. And I think that's
a really beautiful thing for us as we go back to the moon to think about all the different
cultures around the world and how they view the moon differently. And that's really neat because
because we all share that same moon in the night sky.
One hour, 38 minutes and counting until the opening of the Artemis 2 launch window today.
6.24 p.m. Eastern time and we are looking at the rocket and Orion out on the pad, historic
launch pad 39B here at Kennedy Space Center.
a great view at all. Yes it is. You know we can see the clouds out in front of us
but they are to the west and you can see that there's some blue sky peeking
through behind that rocket which is good news. And more and more people continue
to come on center here about a couple of hours ago. Folks with the special passes
to come on center were allowed to start driving on with family and friends and
of course we have media growing by the moment here at the press site here at
Kennedy Space Center, setting up their cameras,
setting up tents, interviewing folks.
Again, this great jib shot that we have
from our camera here showing all the interests
that we have here at the Preside.
And actually even to the right of us,
so camera left, no, sorry, the right of your screen,
left of us, plenty of other people there,
set up with their own tents,
broadcasting to their own viewers.
And so, again, just really cool to see everybody wanting to share at this moment.
Yeah, that's, I mean, how many media tents we can see from here, it's a beautiful thing.
Yeah.
I think it's important to share this message with the whole world.
Yeah.
And so, let's take a look now at people who are watching in other parts of the country.
We have this shot here from the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Oh, man, look at that.
Just kidding, Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington.
So sorry, hello to you over there.
Sorry, I thought that you were in Alabama.
But here you are from Seattle, Washington.
Again, the Museum of Flight.
They must have had a special event
to bring people there to watch,
as well as a special event here.
Now, correctly, the US Space and Rocket Center,
Huntsville, Alabama.
Of course, they would have a lot of people here,
and I'm sure this crowd will grow.
when we get closer to launch, Marshall,
the home of the SLS rocket.
Yes.
Yeah, this is a great chat.
You can see all the people there.
And obviously you've got quite a few artifacts in there as well.
Oh, that's the SLS rocket.
Now they know, yeah, now they know.
They're on the broadcast.
That's too funny.
That's awesome.
Hey, listen, it's all right.
We can sit.
We can sit and chill until we wait for the opening of the minute.
No, they're there.
There they are.
Yeah.
Everybody's excited.
Thank you guys for showing us your excitement.
I know deep down it was in there.
It's just that you felt like sitting at the moment
and that's all right.
It's a little delay.
Yeah, that's all right.
Well, thanks so much to those supporting these watch parties
and bringing them to us live here.
Actually, our video paths are taking quite a circuitous
route to be able to bring those live views in
from Seattle as well as Alabama,
but we're glad that we can be able to share it with you
in the broadcast now.
And so why are we going to the moon?
Why does NASA want to build a moon base there?
Here's Megan Carter again with our moon board.
All right, thank you, Megan.
Yeah, so we are right around that hour and a half mark,
hopefully for that launch.
It's going to be very exciting.
So they are gonna have a few days
to be around the low Earth orbit,
and then they'll be heading on to the moon.
So yes, let's talk what will be happening.
why are we going to the moon?
So obviously this is not going to be a landing
as we've discussed.
They are going to be coming with four to 6,000 feet
around the moon's surface
and this is going to connect us directly to our past.
Those Apollo missions did have six lunar landings
and the Artemis campaign is looking to build on that past
by going back to the moon, staying longer
and then going farther.
So how are we going to do that and why?
We have obviously talked a little bit
about that lunar south pole.
And we are focused specifically on the far side of the moon
for this one for a specific reason.
You might have guessed,
we're gonna be looking for some resources especially,
and that's going to be water or water ice.
That is going to be giving us some really critical pieces
for future missions.
And as you can see here,
we have identified nine potential landing zones.
So this is gonna be a critical objective for our crew.
We, depending on when they launch,
we will determine what is going to be visible,
but we do have these nine landing zones
right here around the Shackleton crater.
And as you can see here, a lot of that area is deep and dark
and that is where we are gonna be looking for that water ice
because that is obviously going to give us
not just water to drink, but as we know,
that can actually be converted
into our propellant potentially, that hydrogen and oxygen.
So that is going to make the moon a critical place
for that moon base because we wanna think of it
essentially as a backpacking trip.
If you have your tent and your hiking boots
and your camping stove and all your gear,
you don't wanna take that out
and be on the trail for the first day
and then try everything out.
You're gonna test things out a little bit closer to home
before you go out on that adventure.
And that kind of goes for us as well.
So the moon is going to be critical for us
in the future steps towards our lunar landings
and then also for going farther on Tamar's in the future.
going to set us up for that deep space exploration, and we can't wait to see what they see once
they get to that flyby, but for now, we are, like I said, getting closer, so I'm going
to turn it back over to you, Megan.
Exciting stuff.
Again, the idea of accomplishing a moon base, like as we've been saying, sometimes things
just seem like science fiction, and it's amazing that we're making it science fact.
Yes, yeah, we're going back.
We're going to scout it out, and then on the future Artemis missions, we're going to put
boots back on the moon for the first time in over half a century.
But we're going to stay, and we're going to learn from the moon, and we're going to,
you know, as Megan talked about, the water ice and harness that resource, and, you know,
not only learn from the moon about Earth and about the solar system, but also figure out
how we get to Mars from the moon.
And so what we're seeing now, back inside the white room with the closeout team, they
They are removing basically fixtures that protected the crew module hatch while they
did work around it, right, Nicole?
Yep.
Yeah, so any time that you're moving around and working, there are some sensitive sensors
and parts of the crew module that we don't want to kick or bump into you, and so it's
easier to just put a guard up while you're working in there and then take it down later.
And so this is a visual cue for us that the team is getting ready to close the last hatch
and the launch abort system hatch.
Can you tell us about what the last is?
Yeah, so launch abort system.
This is, you know, the, we have the crew module.
And then once it's out on basically on top of the crew module is the launch abort system.
And it has its own motors so that will arm it about five minutes prior to lunch.
and then it stays with the crew module
until about the Carmen line,
so that 100 kilometer point in space.
Once the crew could safely get to orbit,
it will actually be jettisoned
and the crew module will then be exposed.
So this is just a safety mechanism
that stays on the outside of the crew module
and then as they monitor the attitude
and the thrust and all sorts of the role,
all sorts of different data points
to make sure the crew is safely getting to orbit.
And once they are safely to orbit,
then we will get rid of that launchable system.
And it looks like they're putting all these parts
that they're removing from around the crew module hatch
into a bag because they have to take this out with them
once they leave the pad, right?
Yes, yeah, we don't want anything left up there
in the white room, and especially because that crew access arm
will move away from the capsule and the rocket.
And so we want an empty white room, no pod,
we talked about so that we can have a safe lunch. And this orange tube that you see on
the right side of your screen that had been inside the crew module providing breathable
air to the crew. And now again with the crew module closed and them getting ready to close
the second hatch that has been removed and is out of the way. So again the closeout crew can
continue to do their work. Yeah, that's just a duct to provide some cooling air
and some breathing air to the crew and the closeout crew while they're in there.
That's actually a good point, yeah. And so as we continue to watch the crew
prepare to close the launch abort system hatch, why don't we take a look at the
crew's mission patch. Now crews have designed their official mission patches
since the Gemini 5 launch in 1965. Reed, Victor, Christina and Jeremy, they really
wanted to play on the abbreviation of Artemis II to all, signifying not only the second
major flight of the Artemis program, but also a mission to explore for all by all. The crew
chose the iconic Earthrise photo for a reason. It was taken by the Apollo 8 crew in 1968,
the first crew to ever fly around the moon. The mission was to prove teams then were ready
to land on the moon the same way Artemis II hopes to fly around the moon ahead of a lunar
landing with Artemis 4. This time as we've been saying throughout the broadcast to stay on the
moon and pave the way to Mars. Yeah we talk about incremental steps right and so Artemis 2 is very
similar to Apollo 8 in terms of that increment. They're going to fly around the moon and set up
the rest of the Artemis program for landing on the moon but also with a nod towards the fact that
we do this for all humanity and I love the thoughtfulness and how much they you know how
how much importance they put on their patch design.
Another camera angle of inside the Orion spacecraft?
I was going to say, we might be able to see RISE,
but I think it's right behind Reed's foot there.
And so it's orient people again.
So basically, we have Christina in your upper right hand.
Nope, sorry, Christina in your upper left hand corner.
Then you have Jeremy below her.
And then the feet you're seeing, those are Reed's feet.
And then next to him, the upper right-hand corner,
that is Victor, who's unfortunately hidden by Reed's feet.
But again, that is the orientation of the crew
inside Orion right now.
Now, earlier this week, the crew got to stick their patch
on a wall just outside the pseudo-frome.
You can play that video there now.
You can see that crews have been doing this as part of a pre-flight tradition again.
Wow, we're just making sure that thing won't come off.
Got to make sure it's fine.
And so now Victor is signing there.
Followed by Christina and then Jeremy.
That's a fun tradition and your patch is up there too.
It is. The hours is on the left-hand side there.
Yeah, that's, it's a fun, fun tradition.
This is a really fun day too.
You know, they did this a couple of days ago, but, um,
It's just another step that makes it a little bit more real
that you're going to be launching soon.
Again, we talked a little bit about this before,
the basically like a computer there on Jeremy's leg away
for him to just check out the data, see some
of the data that also read, and Victor are getting to see,
but in those much bigger displays from Orion.
Right, yeah, it's basically a tablet on his leg,
and it's actually plugged into a cord nearby that allows him
to have a screen repeater so he can see what they're looking at.
And it looks like he's taking notes.
Can you talk a little bit about what that is?
It's part of, all of them have like a little procedural book,
right?
Right, yeah, so they have what we call a knee board,
and they'll have blank pages to take notes on.
They might have a cue card or procedures
or they can be kind of custom built
to what each group member wants for their need board.
This mission, of course, built by people and companies
in all 50 states, as we've been saying
throughout the broadcast,
and with our international partners as well.
Let's take a look at some of the people
playing such a big role in today's test slide.
What we're doing here is a collaborative effort of hundreds of thousands of people.
This is about the parts, the hardware, the software, the services all coming together
to make that mission possible.
My dream for this space program is that we would not just push the boundaries, but that
We push them together.
And lift off of Artemis 1.
We rise together, back to the moon and beyond.
It takes a team to do great things.
And Artemis has an incredible team.
We have international partners.
We have commercial partners and industry partners.
It takes unity to accomplish great things.
And that's what this mission's all about.
We're not sending our money to the moon and lighting out on fire.
We're putting that money right back into the economy
in ways that benefit everybody.
So every dollar that comes out of the Treasury
that goes to support this mission
goes back into the Treasury three times.
What is very important to me is that we do it the right way.
And that we do it with our values,
that our industries grow, that our communities grow,
that our families are healthy and safe
and have amazing things to work on.
Then we're going to build machines to go even further
onto Mars.
That is our generation, the Artemis generation
that defines the starting point of our exploration future.
I just want to say thank you to all of the hands that
have touched a part of this program and the hearts that
have moved everyone to this goal,
because we're going to the moon and we're going beyond one team, one team, one team, one dream.
What I really like about that package is again just reminding people that this is spurring so many jobs across the country.
Across the country and across the world, right? The whole world has a part of this.
Artemis Accords are signed by over 40, 50 different countries.
We're spurring, we're taking all of the taxpayers' money and we're putting it right back into
the jobs here in the U.S.
And the money too, you know, when we have more disposable income because we have good
paying jobs, that's money that goes back into our economy as disposable income.
So really, it is just an ecosystem that NASA is proud to be a part of.
Right.
And not only is it about the money and the economy, right, but it's also about the science
and what we're going to learn and exploration, you know, we, on top of all of those things,
we benefit the economy as well.
Obviously, Nicole is a wealth of knowledge.
We're very lucky to have her.
We're going to be tapping into that knowledge throughout the broadcast.
And we have been for now close to four hours.
So thank you, Nicole.
I hope you're holding up, okay?
Yeah, I'm loving it out here.
Let's learn a little bit more about Nicole.
Her first mission to space was actually last March.
She launched from here at Kennedy Space Center as pilot
of NASA's SpaceX Crew 10 mission to the International Space Station.
What a beautiful launch that was.
She spent 148 days in space conducting science experiments that could benefit us on Earth.
For example, one studied the physics of liquids, which could help researchers deliver medicines more effectively.
She also conducted an almost six-hour spacewalk to help upgrade the orbiting lab's power system.
Nicole is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force and flew one of its most advanced aircraft.
She was born in San Diego, California, and is a twin.
That's a cute photo of the two of you, all that one too.
Young explorers, yeah.
Yes, that's so great to just see how far you've come again.
I think that speaks to what we've been saying,
like, you know, just if you're passionate about something,
go for it and see where that takes you.
Yeah, I think that's a great example.
You know, I was a serious little kid with really high goals
and, you know, just kept working hard
and never got bumped up the path and ended up here.
And, you know, I think it's a testament to the human,
like we talked about, you know,
If you're willing to work hard, be a good team player.
You can really get anywhere you want in life.
And that's what I love to talk about.
Christina has mentioned similar things.
And so it's been kind of a theme for the day.
Yeah, yeah, definitely a theme for the day,
a theme for the team.
The crew has said the same sort of things.
So absolutely cool.
Thank you so much for being here.
And hopefully, only a little bit more until launch today.
So today's Artemis II test flight
will mark only the seventh time NASA astronauts
will launch on a new NASA spacecraft designed for crew.
and then controlling the flight will be mission control in Houston.
Our Gary Jordan is inside with flight controllers. Hey Gary.
Hey Megan, you are right.
This is a significant milestone and we may be putting the names of a few more
astronauts
in the history books today. The Artemis II crew
is set to launch today. We'll join a select list of humans
to fly in a spacecraft for the very first time.
An Artemis II like missions before it is a test mission.
During Ascent, the crew and the teams here in the room are prepared for a variety of scenarios.
Some of these will be called out directly by Capcom's stand love during Ascent, and some are a little more subtle.
These calls can be split into two categories, alternate main engine cutoff or MECO targets and aborts.
First, there are two alternate MECO targets or AMTs.
These note milestones to give flight control teams and astronauts an idea of what would happen after that moment,
should the core stage lose one of the main engines.
First is AMT low.
You won't hear it called out by the crew or CAPCOM
since this happens right at liftoff.
If the core stage loses one engine at this moment,
an abort once around option could be made
at main engine cutoff, meaning the crew could target
a splashdown in the Pacific.
The second is AMT high, which will be called out
by CAPCOM's stand love around 22 seconds.
After this moment, if the core stage loses
an engine, we can still pursue an alternate mission in lower
thorbid to accomplish some of the test objectives.
And at about five minutes, 16 seconds into the flight,
you'll hear the call three engine press.
This is a good moment.
After this point, if the core stage loses an engine,
we can still make a nominal main engine cutoff
and pursue a moon mission as expected.
Again, these MECO targets give the flight control teams
and crew an idea of what lies ahead
should one main engine be lost, but assumes
we are otherwise continuing to a main engine cutoff target.
This differs from an abort, where the Orion capsule separates
from the space launch system prior to the planned separation
time.
There are abort options at every moment
that integrity is attached to the space launch system,
from the pad to more than three hours into the mission.
During the first eight or so minutes of powered flight,
there are three abort options.
First is the use of the launch abort system,
which you see at the very top of the rocket,
and here in the white room where the hatch is open
and teams are working to close it.
This particular abort capability can be used from here
at the pad through roughly three minutes
and 22 seconds into the flight.
Next is an untargeted abort splashdown or UAS.
This uses Orion service module engines to escape the SLS
and becomes available immediately
after the launch abort system, Jettison's.
Third is an abort once around or AOA.
You'll hear a CAPCOM stand-love call AOA Open
around seven minutes, 30 seconds into the flight.
This also uses the service module engines,
but the burn profile is a bit different
to aim for a splashdown in the Pacific
after one trip around the Earth.
NASA's expedited recovery teams are staged
off the coast of San Diego to get to the crew
and integrity quickly for this abort option.
An AOA option continues to be available
until solar arrays are deployed
on the Orion service module,
a little more than 30 minutes into the mission.
At this point, an abort to orbit or ATO option
becomes available until separation from the upper stage
around three hours and 23 minutes.
Mission profiles can vary depending on when an ATO
is executed in that window.
But with power being drawn from solar arrays,
it buys more time for astronauts and flight control teams
to make decisions and stay in Earth orbit,
return for a splashdown, or continue to the moon.
The Artemis II crew and flight control teams are well trained on all of these scenarios
and the calls you are here to the crew on Orion to Earth may help them be in a ready state
for whatever challenge may come their way.
At this time, we're not tracking any significant issues here in mission control in Houston,
Texas.
That would be showstoppers for today's launch.
We're continuing to, of course, monitor the countdown along the way and make sure all
systems are on go for when we reach T-0.
With that, I'll send it back to you, Megan, at the Kennedy Space.
All right, we are ready for another reading
if you are ready over there.
Yes, sir, the CBA is steady at 2600 PSI.
All right, copy that.
And you know, the more times we ask you to do that,
the closer we get to launch, so that's a good thing.
Copy.
You heard it there from NASA test director, Jeff Spaulding.
The more that they keep on asking her
how the pressure is holding
in the counterbalance assembly mechanism is a good thing
because it means we are getting closer to launch.
So that's amazing news over the loops that we just heard
on Orion to Earth One, again,
that communication channel with the crew.
But now I want to get back over to Daryl with the launch team.
He has an update now on the flight termination system
that the team was tracking.
All right, thank you very much, Megan.
And we're getting an update now from the launch team
as we speak.
I stand by one second.
Okay, sorry about that.
We were just getting an update in fact about what I was about to report out on the range and the good news is the range is go
So we reported that they were working to verify their equipment regarding the the FTS system and
They asked for a little that verification work to be done by one of the FTF
FTS engineers here in the firing room
system. He went out to the VAB to get some legacy hardware to help out with it. But in
the end, this is a fix that the range had come up with to get clearance, to clear the
range rather and to as well work the FTS system. And so now they are go. Again, the range is
go that is no longer a constraint and so you combine that with the fact that the
rocket and the ground systems here also working no constraints clearboard here
is great news so again the range is is green and we're continuing to work
through the countdown we got a weather update that came in to the launch
from Launch Weather Officer Mark Berger.
He reported out that there's still a little bit
of feisty weather activity that's happening
up in the Titusville area.
It's the city neighboring the Kennedy Space Center.
Those showers had passed over Kennedy
and then now they're currently over in Titusville,
currently still within that mild kind of constraint
of flight through precipitation rule.
But we're still far enough from the window
that it looks like it won't be an issue.
And in fact, we're seeing some good sunlight now
breaking through onto the launch pad.
As you can see, it's actually shining
on the other side of the rocket here.
But to the west, we're starting to see
some of that clearing that was forecast.
And so the launch weather officer
held his forecast for 80% go for flight during our launch window tonight, which as a reminder
is 6.24 p.m. Eastern Time until 8.24 p.m. Eastern Time.
We're also hearing that the last hatch closure, as you can see in the bottom corner of your
screen. They're starting to work on that. That's the launch abort system hatch.
There are two hatches, the crew hatch and the launch abort system hatch and the
closeout crew that you see right there right on time with their work as they
go to shut and you can see it in in motion right now that launch abort
system hatch. That's the latest from the firing room. Send it back to the host
Thank you so much, Dale. Great news all around. And yes, we did just see them close the last
hatch. And now we are looking at a live view of Banana Creek. Lots of people there, I'm
sure, relieved to hear that that issue with the flight termination system has been resolved.
And we are go for launch. Go for launch from the range. Go for weather. And go from all
of them, I would imagine.
Yes, it's going to be exciting the crowd is building and as Darryl said you
could start to see the sun poking out here and we can see that all the clouds
are moving north and moving away from us so it's all good news. And so as we know
we have our Leah Martin down there at the Banana Creek viewing location and
she's standing by with some other guests. Hey Megan, I don't know if you heard that
huge cheer just now. If you're in a big rumble, as soon as Darryl said that the
The range was clear for a large everybody club that was super excited as we get to do some final countdowns sitting next to me I have Hudson and Maddox the son of brothers here and I asked you a little bit earlier how excited are you to be here for a launch what did you say?
I'm very excited. It's our mom's birthday and you know.
Not a better way to celebrate right now I asked you on a scale one to ten how excited are you would you say?
11. I'm very excited. Super excited.
So, Megan, we've been watching the launch broadcast here and hearing some of the questions
that you and Nicole have been asking and answering and I actually wanted to ask these two kids,
if you could take a 10 day trip around the moon and take three people with you, who would
you take with you?
Well, I'd take my dad and my mom and I mean, I don't know, probably my best friend. I'd
just say one of my friends, you know.
Oh, what a good, so brother got left out.
Who would you take?
That was just what I was thinking.
My dad and my mom are my best friends.
That's a pretty good answer.
Your brother can get his own trip to space, right?
So I'm actually joined here also by dad.
Now you were sharing with me that a lot of the work
that you've been doing over the last several months
has been prepping the launch teams,
our engineering teams, our ground systems teams
to get ready for launch to be mindful
and to be in this moment.
How does it feel to be standing here
knowing that the people you've worked so closely with are doing what they're
passionate about or doing what they were born to do moments away from watching
this rocket. I mean this is an exceptionally happy moment for us and
all of us and the people that are you know about to take off on this historic
trip here and I'm grateful to know that we've helped in some way shape or form
to help them stay steady and calm you know in such an exciting time within
the agency and so to just be here and witness it and and know that you know
They've got some tools to help them stay calm and steady as everything goes.
Fantastic. Well, Megan, we are standing by ready to go and we're ready to cheer this team on.
Thanks so much, guys. And yes, Leah, we did hear that cheer. That was very exciting.
I think the vibe over there is they're celebrating. They're having fun. And here,
once they heard that we're go for launch, everybody had to run back to the camera and work.
It's a little bit of a different vibe, but I definitely think that people
are excited, especially as we see now live inside of the white room. At the launch pad,
the closeout crew has closed the launch abort system hatch. You saw there, we took it live,
took a lot of them, I think all of them, except for one. I think it took all three or four of them
to push that hatch door close, and then they felt around the perimeter of the door to make sure
that everything was sitting just right. Right, yeah, we talked about how heavy the crew module
hatches. This hatch is just as heavy probably and so you know they're working the closure here
and working those connections and you can see yeah there's still three four or five people
that we can see in the white room. It takes a lot of people to get these hatches closed and this
rocket right in launch. And so the next step in the countdown is that this team will start closing
out the white room. So basically disconnecting things, stowing things, making sure that when
they leave, there is nothing that isn't supposed to be there. And really, then at that point,
it's just all for the crew member, Victor Reed, Christina, and Jeremy by themselves at the
top of the launch pad.
Yeah. And then eventually that crew access arm will move away and then it'll really
just be them up on top of that rocket.
Yeah, your eyes lit up when I said that.
That's exciting, it is.
It is.
Yeah, we had a moment.
We talked a little bit about my fair heights, but most of our crew is afraid of heights.
And so there was a moment where I realized that it was just us, you know,
100 and some odd feet up and no crew access arm.
And maybe not have said something that made everybody go,
Oh, you're wondering yourself, what, how did I get here?
We were pretty far up.
That crew again, bringing that drag on camera, that camera is a hand held camera that is
a live look for teams who are remotely watching these operations closely.
Again verifying that things are as they should be before the crew starts, the closeout crew
starts leaving the white room.
You see them checking their procedures.
You can see they're also covering the ends of those hoses.
That's to protect those hoses from FOD.
So we don't want anything, any dirt or anything to get into those while we transport them
and stow them.
So you can see Andre there working to close out the hoses as well while they're cleaning
up the white room.
And so they'll take that close.
We just saw number five, number five, holding some tools.
Again, we'll stow those away.
You have to account for everything.
Obviously, they did have tools out.
They did have procedures, paper, notes out.
Like all of that has to go.
Yes, and you can even see on number three's hat,
he's got a string that's connected to his suit there.
That's, again, just to make sure that we don't lose anything.
If you got a gust of wind or you get knocked or something,
you don't want to lose a single thing in the white room.
So everything is tethered, everything is accounted for,
and everything is protected.
The crew now, another live view of them inside Orion.
Jeremy, Christina, and Reed, and Victor
on the left, the right side of your screen.
What do you think they're thinking right now, Nicole?
Oh man, just over an hour to launch.
You know, there's probably a little bit of a lull
right now, monitoring some systems.
But you can see Reed's got his feet crossed.
So I think just trying to relax and pass the time
by maybe thinking through the items
that they're going to monitor through the launch,
the different jobs that each of them
have throughout the launch.
And once they get to orbit, this first day on orbit
is actually really busy for them.
They've got two burns that they have to monitor.
They've got to get the system set up,
and they've got to get the cabin set up.
So there's a lot going on in the next 24 hours for this crew.
I think they've got a couple sections
where they get to take a nap,
but I don't think they get a full night's rest
for quite some time.
So, you know, going through what's next.
And so as we say that, I mean,
imagine what it would be like to live in a spacecraft
for 10 days.
Let's take a look at what life will be like in Orion.
Artemis II is our first crewed mission back to the moon since the Apollo program.
A lot of the focus of Artemis II is really checking out systems to be sure that we're
ready and well positioned for continued human exploration.
My name is Susan Baggerman and I'm the Chief Health and Performance Officer for the Orion
program in the Artemis II mission and this is 10 Days in Orion.
For this mission, the crew will launch in the Orion spacecraft on top of the Space Launch
System rocket or the SLS rocket.
Once they've launched and achieved orbit, they'll continue on checking out many of the
different critical Orion systems, check out some of the critical medical systems, and
be sure that we understand how the crew would do that successfully within the volume of
Orion.
We also have, of course, systems to feed the crew.
They have a potable water dispenser that they'll check out.
And then we also have a food warmer.
It kind of looks like a suitcase that the crew can use to heat their food.
They're also going to check out the flight wheel system.
We'll have the crew perform some initial exercises.
Part of that is to ensure that the flight wheel is actually working, but part of it
is actually to be sure that our environmental control systems are actually working.
For sleeping, the crew will sleep in sleeping bags.
crew members like to be very like tightly bound up and some like to float very free.
They'll use the toilet for the first time and be sure that it's able to flush.
While they're on their journey, they'll do some testing that they quickly don their suit
just to be sure that we would be ready in the future for an emergency.
They'll also check out our radiation shelter.
If we were to have a solar particle event, we would be asking them to take Stowage out
of the Stowage Bay and put it in some specific locations on the vehicle.
basically for it to sort of a shielding.
And so I want to talk a little bit more
about what we just heard in that package.
I am interested in the space food.
So, Reed, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy
have a pretty big menu to choose from,
so that's really cool.
We're actually going to pull up a graphic now
that kind of shows you some of the food
that they're going to have with them
on their 10 day journey around the moon.
We know of more than 10 types of beverages.
There's coffee, a mango peach smoothie, apple cider,
lemonade, so those all sound delicious.
And now, I've just remembered I haven't eaten lunch.
I'm actually not too bad.
I actually have a mango peach smoothie with me today.
No way!
Yeah, so you can see they come in these little packets here,
but it's just kind of a dried powder that you add water to.
So this would, actually, you'd add 175 milliliters of water
and let it sit for two to five minutes
and then you can stick a straw on it.
You saw in that package they put a straw
on the top septum portion there
and then you can drink it.
So this is the packaging.
This is food that you brought up with you
or that you had while you were at the ISS.
Yes, yeah, actually this is all food
that we have available to us on the standard,
what we call the standard menu on the space station.
And so actually the graphic there showed quite a bit
of the standard menu that they're gonna take with them.
So space food is space food.
Yeah, we can use the food that we have been using.
Our food lab at Johnson Space Center
actually creates that food and then they stabilize it
and they package it for us and everything.
So they do a really wonderful job out there.
We've got different types of food.
You can see I've got a, this is a soup, tomato basil soup.
So thermal stabilize, it's already hydrated.
So you just throw it in that food warmer
that we talked about and then you can eat it.
But then we also have some shrimp cocktail here
It's irradiated, so it's in a package that protects it.
I'll show you, I've got a brownie to you.
This is probably my favorite one.
Are we eating it?
We might, if you're.
Yes.
Let's see.
They want to see.
I don't know what happened, but it worked out
in what we were saying here.
So it's in an outer package to help protect it
against irradiation, and then it's in this inner package.
And so this cosmic brownie, actually, the trick in McLean,
my crewmate taught me, the trick is
you got to put this in the food warmer,
and warm and then you can get it but so what we do is we just take scissors and you open it up
and then it comes right out so these brownies are nice because they don't have a ton of crumbs and
so you can actually just eat it pretty easily in space you know if you imagine that would not happen
in space it would not fall but yeah so we've got all sorts of things that you can actually eat the
menu is pretty good and pretty diverse on the space station and then as you saw it pretty diverse for
all right nice yeah that's amazing and again here's a look at the crowd that's
starting to continue to grow here as we get closer and closer to launch we are
now under an hour from the opening of our two-hour launch window at 6 24 p.m.
Eastern time and so let's take some questions from social media we haven't
taken some of those for a while you put that brownie away Nicole I'm gonna
steal it Nicole we have another celebrity who submitted a question let's
take a look. Okay. A quick question for the Artemis crew. What food from Earth
would you bring with you into space? And why would it be lasagna? Because that's
the greatest food.
Again, not really a question. Yeah. Because he was like, it's lasagna. You know, there is lasagna on
space station and it wasn't too bad. Probably not my favorite food of all, but yeah, lasagna is not
a bad option. It's a high calorie meal. If you're trying to, you know, carb load for a space walk or
something, it's a great option. Yeah, I remember Christina saying that her favorite food on the
menu and actually she was saying that she was getting in trouble because people kept on saying
you can't eat mac and cheese every day, Christina. You know, we mentioned the mac and cheese and
and brisket earlier. Man, I would put those to you on a tortilla. That would be great.
That sounds delicious. Delicious. Well, thank you so much, everyone, for sending in those
questions. Everyone from a five-year-old that we got a question from to all the way to Roy
Woods Jr. there, comedian. So thank you so much. And if you're just joining us, welcome
to the Space Coast of Florida, where we are counting down to lift off of Artemis II. You
You see a beautiful aerial shot there of our rocket on the pad.
For the first time in more than 50 years, we are sending humans to fly around the moon
and back, and we're taking you all, all of you with us on this next chapter of human
spaceflight.
I'm NASA's Megan Cruz, and this is NASA Astrodot, Nicole Ayres.
Great to have you here, Nicole.
Yes, this has been a beautiful day.
Excited.
We're continuing to march towards this launch.
Yeah.
And if all goes as planned, this crew could travel farther from Earth than any other
humans before them and see parts of the moon no one has ever laid eyes on. How
exciting. Yes. Exciting is an understatement I think. That's true. We're
going to see the far side of the moon for the first time by humans in a long
time. It's important. And as the crowd again builds behind us, more activity
that you're seeing here at the Kennedy Space Center Press Site. We also have a
ton of people gathering around the world to watch this history-making moment. So
Let's take a look at those watch parties now.
Oh, that crowd has grown.
We checked with them probably like 30 minutes ago, and it was half that.
But again, as we get closer and closer to launch, we are seeing more and more
people gathered together, wanting to experience this together and not just in
a vacuum at home, you know?
Yes, this is so exciting.
Look at all of those people.
Man.
And now here we are back in Seattle, the Museum of Flight.
again, people gathered there to show their kid. We see someone walking in the second
row there, his first crewed launch to the moon. How exciting.
That is exciting.
Hello, everyone.
Oh, that's so great.
And now let's get you up to speed on what's happened so far. Again, we are now within
an hour of the opening of our launch window. So what has been happening so far today?
a lot. After waking up and grabbing a bite to eat, our Artemis II crew suited up inside
the historic crew quarters, a tradition that dates back decades. Teams helped them into
their custom Orion crew survival suits, and just like other crews before them, they gathered
around the table for a card game to pass the time, but to also burn off any lingering bad
luck before they walked in the footsteps of every NASA astronaut launching from Kennedy
Space Center since Apollo 7 in 1968. They walked outside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout
Building to greet a crowd of family, friends, supporters before getting into their Astrovan
for their security escorted ride out to historic Launch Complex 39B. They got a close-up look at
the SLS rocket, then walked across the crew access arm and climbed one by one inside the Orion
spacecraft. After that, teams conducted final checks with the crew before closing both hatches.
the crew module hatch as well as what you're seeing there,
the launch abort system hatch.
Now, we are back live at the pad where
the closeout crew is getting ready to leave the white room.
They are now tethered, Nicole,
because they are about to move some pieces that connect
the Orion spacecraft to the white room, correct?
Yes. There's what I would call a shroud.
You can see them working there.
So it is actually connected so that way the gap between the crew access arm and the crew
module and why I guess that's the LAS there is covered, but they're about to remove that
so that the crew access arm is not connected to the rocket in any way so that it can retract
here in the next few minutes.
And for how we're looking with the launch countdown milestones, let's go to Daryl Nail
and the Launch Control Center.
All right thank you very much Megan and as you can see there the finishing
touches as you've been talking about to the last which brings me to that subject
because we currently are hearing the launch team is working an issue that
was reported out with the last at least there's an issue apparently with a
the battery on the last engineer who is in charge of the launch board system sits on
console here reported that a temperature for one of the two last batteries is out of range.
And although it's not a constraint for launch right now, it would be when that temperature
is checked inside of T minus six minutes, which is inside of terminal count.
So right now, the team is working some troubleshooting on this issue, going to follow, of course,
along closely with what they learned.
But again, a battery temp for one of the two batteries on the last is out of spec.
And the team is working to understand, first of all, whether or not this may be a sensor
issue, or is there an issue with the battery itself?
again looking into it, trouble shooting and researching as we speak. With regards
to the weather we did get some good news there. Launch Weather Officer Mark
Berger reporting to the launch director that the weather chances have now
improved for the window. We are up to 90% go which is great news again 90% go.
That is up from the 80% that we started when we had the first weather forecast
come out officially three days ago and so that that is great and for anybody
who's here in the launch area knows that is that is certainly viewable. They can
see that by just looking up so we're getting some good clearing as forecast.
And then just a reminder for those people who are watching the launch from the
nearby area that if you're watching on an internet enabled device just remember
that there may be a little bit of a delay, can't tell you how much of a delay, but since it's on
an internet device, you know, sometimes this broadcast might be a little behind what you're
actually seeing, so just keep that in mind as you are watching. Don't wait until the last second
to run outside if you're inside your RV or your camper or your house. That's the latest here from
the firing room. Of course, we'll keep track of that last battery issue. I'll send it back now to
to Megan and Nicole at the host desk.
Two of them there had to be tethered
to the inside of the white room.
Because obviously now we have detached the white room
from the Orion spacecraft.
Yes, that view is quite something.
Yeah, spectacular.
Yep, yep.
Oh, no, I'm sorry, I forgot Nicole's scared of heights.
An astronaut afraid of heights is actually not uncommon as we've learned today.
But yes, so obviously again, things proceeding as we march closer to the opening
of our two-hour launch window at 624 p.m. Eastern time.
Again, the closeout crew, just finishing up those last couple of things they have to do
before leaving the white room and then leaving the pad, leaving only before Artemis II crew members
inside the spacecraft by themselves at the pad.
Yeah, and then we'll be curious to follow the battery issue
on the last as well.
I think sometimes it's just a sensory issue.
Sometimes it's a battery issue.
So hopefully they figure that out quickly.
And so if we can take a shot of the crew inside the capsule
if one's available, why don't we talk a little bit more
about each of them?
So we have Artemis II commander, Reed Wiseman,
Baltimore native.
And he's actually, you see his feet in that shot there
from inside Orion.
He's been in space once before as flight engineer
for Expedition 41 aboard the International Space Station
from May through November, 2014.
During the 165 day mission,
Reid and his crewmates completed more than 300 science
experiments in areas like human physiology, medicine,
physical science, earth science, as well as astrophysics.
They actually set a milestone for station science
by completing a record 82 research hours in a single week.
He also served as chief of NASA's astronaut office
from December 2020 to December 2022.
His two daughters were out to wave goodbye to him
as he made his way to the launch pad.
And again, there's Reed's feet.
Reed is the one sitting in the seat
to the right closest to our camera there.
So looks like he's relaxed by the body language of his feet.
Yeah, you know, I think they're kind of in a holding pattern, if you will, or a waiting period, so it makes sense that he's a little bit relaxed.
He's also kind of just a relaxed person in general. He's wicked smart, but has a demeanor that keeps everybody calm.
And so I think we're seeing that here today.
And so in this shot, Reed is the one sitting on the left and to his right, Artemis II pilot, Victor Glover.
NASA selected the California native as an astronaut in 2013, and at the time he was
actually serving as a legislative fellow in the United States Senate.
His first trip to space in November 2020, pilot of NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 mission, that
was the first operational mission of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which resumes launching
American rockets from American soil to the International Space Station since the end
of the shuttle program.
Victor is a U.S. Navy captain and naval aviator
who served as a test pilot,
racking up more than 3,500 flight hours
and more than 40 different aircraft.
So again, he probably feels pretty at home
in the pilot seat of Artemis II.
Yeah, I think he does.
He got to say goodbye to his wife and four kids.
Again, those were the family that he had here
at Kennedy Space Center before the four of them
drove out to the pad.
Yeah, and you can see there,
we talked about Victor's energy earlier,
and you can see him working through,
you know, pushing some buttons on the displays.
Looked like he was pulling up a procedure,
so he's following along and ready to go, looks like.
And then mission specialist, Christina Cook,
sitting on the upper left-hand corner of the screen there,
native of Grand Rapids, Michigan,
was selected to the Astronaut Corps in 2013,
same class as Victor, served as flight engineer on the International Space Station from March
2019 to February 2020. During that time, she set a record for the longest single space flight
by a woman with a total of 328 consecutive days in space. How cool. She also participated
in the first ever all-female spacewalk. And before becoming an astronaut, Christina helped
build space science instruments and led scientific field work in some of the most remote environments
on the planet. Her hobbies include surfing, rock climbing, community service, yoga and
photography. Come on in, N.C.D.
There's a couple of suppressed overvolt messages. We're going to go ahead and clear this off
your screen. We see them and we copy.
All right. NASA test director. We're still working here trying to get through everything.
So we're getting close and then trying to talk
to other issues that we picked up a little bit ago.
But I think work-wise we're doing really well.
Sounds good, NTG.
We're doing great onboard.
Glad to hear it.
NASA test director giving an update to the crew.
Some messages flashed on their displays.
Just wanted to say that they didn't have to worry about that.
We're going to clear that.
And that also just reassuring the crew.
Again, that they are tracking and working the issue
with the launch abort system battery.
Yeah. All right.
And then first-time flyer,
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will fly
to the moon as admission specialist
on the Artemis II mission.
The London, Ontario native selected as an astronaut in 2009.
After that, he worked as Capcom
at NASA's Admission Control Center in Houston.
Capcom stands for capsule communicator
and is the sole direct voice communicating
with astronauts while in space.
Jeremy also participated in training exercises.
Really cool ones like living on the ocean floor off the coast
of Florida to simulate deep space exploration for a week.
In 2017, he became the first Canadian
to lead a NASA astronaut class.
He also enjoys getting out on a sailboat, rock climbing,
and mountain biking.
He has a wife and three children, and he's the one that you see bottom left-hand corner of your screen.
I know I'm trying to see what he's doing there.
Christina's looking too, and so there is your Artemis II crew inside the Orion spacecraft,
and this is actually the seventh time NASA astronauts will launch on a new NASA spacecraft
design for crew. And if you're wondering about the first six crew test flights, here they are.
Gemini 3, Gus Grissom, John Young, March 23, 1965.
Apollo 7, Wally-Sharah, Don Isley, Walt Cunningham, October 11, 1968.
Space Transportation System, or STS-1, John Young, Robert Griffin, April 12, 1981.
Then NASA's SpaceX demo 2, Doug Hurley, Bob Bankin, May 30, 2020, followed by NASA's
Boeing Crew Flight Test, butch Wilmore, Sonny Williams, June 5th, 2024, and now Artemis
2 with Reed, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy.
It is really surprising, honestly, to hear that through all these decades, through all
these launches we've had, this is only our seventh new vehicle that we're testing for
crew.
We have so many different missions that we think about and we talk about, but really
seven vehicles that we've tested and that we're flying.
I like to think of spaceflight really as a permanent test.
We have hundreds of missions or so, an airplane that gets tested, and then flown has thousands
of data points, and so really, spaceflight is always going to be in the test field.
And I think it's important to remember that, especially as we put humans on rockets that
we never have before or for the seventh time we start a new vehicle and the new mission.
Just getting word now that white room closeouts are complete and so the closeout crew is preparing to leave the pad.
It's exciting stuff. We are making good time and the closeout crew is doing really well.
41 minutes, 43 seconds and counting, until the opening of our window.
And Artemis 2 is a 10-day mission that will send the four-person crew on a journey around
the Moon and back to Earth.
It will be a critical step towards future lunar and Mars missions.
We're going back to the Moon because it's the next step in our journey to Mars.
We need to go explore the moon. There's vast regions of unexplored areas with the coldest, darkest places in our solar system.
This is a test mission, and when we get off the planet, we might come right back home.
We might spend three or four days around Earth. We might go to the moon. That's where we want to go.
But it is a test mission, and we are ready for every scenario as we ride this amazing space launch system in the Orion spacecraft.
But another reason we're going back to the moon is to fulfill NASA's mission, which is
to explore the unknown in air and space, to innovate for the benefit of humanity and to
inspire the world through discovery.
And when we succeed and when we accomplish the things that we set out to accomplish, that
inspiration not only can set up new things to happen, but it also is a reminder in tough
times that we're capable of doing great things when we work together.
The thing I love about the moon is that it's not just a beacon for exploration and this
platform of possibilities for incredible missions like this, but it has benefits.
That's actually why we're racing towards it. Those benefits are really wide in nature. You have
everything from innovation, technology development, not only for future missions going deeper into the
solar system. The technology is a comeback to Earth. You have inspiration, a whole generation of people
starting this pipeline of STEM workers and manufacturers and operators that are excited
to see what you can do when you work hard and you come together as a team.
When I think about the four of us flying around the far side of the moon, seeing that Earth
rise, taking images and video and sending them back to you, the feeling that I have inside
is hope.
We know that Artemis II is not the solution for humanity on planet Earth, but it is a
contribution in the positive column.
We hope that just for a moment that people will pause and say, wow, it's extraordinary
when you look back upon the Earth with over 8 billion people.
And you see this concrete example of what humanity can do,
this extraordinary thing when we set big goals.
And to achieve.
And so Mission Control Houston will control the flight of Orion
after a lift off here at Kennedy Space Center.
Here's Gary Jordan who's embedded with that team.
Gary, you might have to pause because we did just hear a call
out to the commander in Orion.
We'll do, Megan.
I think that was Commander Reed Wiseman responding
to prepare for some of the next steps.
We are now holding at the T-minus 10-minute hold,
expected a 30-minute hold, so we are well on the countdown.
We are well on the timeline to meet this L-minus time
and launch towards the beginning of the window
but continuing to track progress along the way.
Again, I'm here with the Artemis II flight control teams
in Mission Control Houston.
The team in the room behind me has been monitoring the countdown
and verifying their own mission-specific launch criteria
of the space launch system, the Orion spacecraft integrity,
and its crew.
During the final pull before launch, if all looks good,
from each of the flight controllers in this room,
Flight Director Judd Freeling will report a go-for launch
from Houston Flight.
Upon liftoff, teams here take control of the mission and communicate with the crew
while they fly on the Space Launch System.
This phase of flight is highly dynamic, and each console position has a dedicated
and important role of looking after critical systems.
You'll hear calls from Capcom and NASA astronauts stand love in this room
to the Artemis II crew as milestones are reached during the more than eight minutes
of powered flight on the core stage.
Liftoff and Cent are just the beginning.
This room will be staffed around the clock over the next 10 days to oversee every moment of the mission through Splashdown.
Here from the Johnson Space Center, we'll be streaming the mission live 24-7 so anyone can follow the cruise journey,
take peaks inside the spacecraft, and share the experience of a lunar flyby with astronauts looking down at the moon's surface.
Teams here have been rehearsing tirelessly in simulations to throw every conceivable and inconceivable scenario their way.
ready and eager to begin the Artemis II mission. Still milestones to come as we continue the
countdown, but we'll be right back with you during the ascent phase of today's flight.
With that, Megan, I will send it back over to you at the Space Coast.
Thanks so much, Gary. Under 37 minutes until the opening of our two-hour launch window,
6.24 p.m. Eastern. I've never been more excited for a time. But why don't we send it back over
over to Megan Carter with the moon board
to learn more about what happens after ascent.
Absolutely, I am definitely also getting excited.
Things feel like they're starting to pick up
a little pace here.
A lot is about to happen
within the first 10 minutes of launch,
but what happens after those first 10 minutes?
Let me take you over here to my mission map
so we can kind of jump ahead
and let me explain a few things.
So our main engine cutoff is gonna stand for MECO
and that is essentially where the rocket's job is done
and it is then going to turn the propulsion duties
over to our ICPS.
That stands for Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
Don't try and say that too many times fast,
but the ICPS is going to be right here,
and that's our in-space propulsion.
About 50 minutes into,
after about 50 minutes into launch,
it is going to conduct that first burn,
and that's going to be the Paragee Raise Maneuver.
Essentially what that is going to do
is going to raise the spacecraft
from a lowest point of Earth,
just a little bit higher into space.
And then they are going to conduct that nice path.
It's gonna set them on that nice circular path
around the Earth.
That's when they're gonna start to be able
to really check out the spacecraft.
The Orion spacecraft is gonna be able to,
like we've talked about, be maneuvered by the crew.
They're gonna check out those life support systems
and communication checkouts.
It's gonna be vital at that point as well, obviously.
Then they will be conducting another burn
And that's going to raise them just a little bit higher again.
And then they will, it'll be about time for the ICPS to separate.
And they will start another lap around the Earth as well.
Now, the ICPS, even after it separates, its job will not be done
because they will have the opportunity to conduct something
called the proximity operations demonstration.
And this is going to be really important
for our future lunar missions because the ICPS actually has a target on it.
and the crew is going to have the opportunity to manually maneuver the spacecraft like we've mentioned
and practice those docking maneuvers. Now obviously they will not be docking for this mission,
but that is again going to be critical for those lunar missions in the future. Now, all right,
after that ICPS has separated and they've done that second lap, they're going to conduct two more
burns. And what these burns are going to do is set them up to the high enough orbit and a fast
enough speed in order to conduct the trans lunar injection. This is going to be
that critical moment in that critical milestone where they are going to
produce about 6,000 pounds of thrust and this is that point that is going to take
them out of the out of low Earth orbit into deep space and it's going to set
them on that nice path towards that lunar flyby and I know we have talked a
little bit about why this could be a record-breaking flyby and journey to the
moon and with that I'm going to turn it back over to Megan so she can tell us
just why. Yeah, she's talking about the distance records set by the Apollo 13
astronauts in 1970. They were 248,655 miles away from Earth and this Artemis
2 crew might surpass that on flight day 6 when they fly around the moon by more
than 4,000 miles. Yeah, that's I mean it's a long ways. It's tough to fathom
250,000 miles from Earth, right? I mean the space station is only
250 miles. And so we're going, you know, I don't want to do public math, but we're
doing much further than that. But you know, it's important, right? Because we want to
get back to the moon. We want to see the surface. We want to see the far side of the
moon. And the way we do that is by breaking distance records. Yeah. And the exact distance
record depends on exactly when they launch, like the time, the day. So we'll learn more
as we go into this 10 day mission with the Artemis Trail to crew. But here we are 32
50 seconds and counting from the opening of our launch window feels really really surreal here as more and poor people come together on the
Press site lawn here at Kennedy Space Center
Why don't we take a look at this video that we have here some familiar faces who wanted to wish our Artemis 2 crew a safe journey
Read Victor Christina and Jeremy you are the real deal
You're flying to the moon for all of us and we are in awe. You're the true heroes
You were not just astronauts, you were pioneers,
venturing deeper into the unknown.
But you were not alone.
We will be all cheering you on from planet Earth.
Hey, I'm Victor Juan Manila, and I play basketball on the NBA.
But I'm not only interested in shooting hooks,
I'm also interested in shooting stars, dark matter,
and all the types of astronomical phenomenon.
And to the awesomeest two astronauts who are shooting for the moon,
I wish them good luck and Godspeed.
Hi everybody, I'm Ryan Gosling and I play a biologist who goes to space to save the
planet in the film Project Hail Mary, but the Artemis II astronauts are going to space
for real and they will travel farther from Earth than any humans in history, sending
all our best wishes to the Artemis II crew.
I just want to say how proud I am of each of you and how inspired you make me, but it's
not just about me.
Your mission is going to inspire future generations of scientists, engineers, athletes, and dreamers
to do something that they never thought possible.
Hey, it's Roy Wood Jr.
And I want to wish the Artemis II crew
a happy and safe journey to the moon.
Well, around the moon, should be going right.
I know what you're doing.
You got to look for a parking space.
This is to go around the moon, make sure it's somewhere to park.
And then you park, journey, good luck.
It's actually a really good way to explain
what the, how this mission builds.
Again, we are hoping to land astronauts on the surface
of the moon in maybe two years.
So, yes, we are looking around the moon on this lunar fly
by mission to see where we might park.
Thank you, Roy Wood Jr.
Okay, and as we look at this live view of the rocket
on the pad, there is a spectacular place here
at Kennedy Space Center to watch launch from,
and that's the Banana Creek viewing area.
Why don't we go back there where the crowd is excited,
and Leah has the best assignment ever talking to people
who are super excited about being here for Artemis too.
Oh my gosh, Megan, you talk about the excitement,
being palpable, I'm telling you,
everybody here on pins and needles as we get,
just about half an hour away from lunch,
I've been walking around talking to people
and I'm just struck again and again
by how many people are here from across the agency.
I wanna introduce you to just a small portion
of the people across NASA who have been supporting
mission. Paddy Ortiz, NASA Arms Strong Flight Research Center Orion program.
Orion. Kathy Graves, Glen Research Center, Office of Stem Engagement. David Alexander,
NASA Glen Research Center, Office of Stem Engagement. Jennifer Vasella, Johnson Space Center,
the Office of Stem Engagement. Here we go, right back here. Where you from? I'm from NASA Glen
Research Center, Joseph Ponekitas. Joseph, here we go. Wes Ferman from APL. Maria Ardondo from
headquarters next to the sun. Mark Robinson is in a space center commercial space. Amira
Flores Armstrong office of the STEM engagement. Molly Kerns NASA Glenn space communications
and navigation. Matthew Pierce Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. Here we go and
right over here. Lauren Ring aims research center data integration. So we're coming together for one
big NASA team, one big NASA family, and we have one major message before we launch tonight.
Okay guys, what are we going to say? One, two, three, bravo!
Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, that made me so emotional. That was so inspiring to see. I mean, wow. Yeah,
Yeah, that was great.
I mean, just to hear everybody say their position,
what they're doing to support this mission is amazing.
And I'm sure this was something that really rang true
and resonated with NASA's Administrator Jared Isaac
then again to see the workforce come together,
to do the work and then to be here for launch.
So why don't we actually go over to him now
with our Jasmine Hopkins at one of our other viewing locations.
All right, Megan, thank you so much.
The energy here on the balcony is honestly becoming electric
as we get so close to launch.
And now we are thrilled to welcome NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
Jared, we're really entering a golden age of exploration.
How will Artemis II set the pace for the coming years?
Well, I mean, Artemis II is the opening act, right?
This is the test mission.
This is getting very comfortable with the SLS rocket, the Orion spacecraft.
No humans have ever flown on this before, right?
And we're going to put it through its paces.
We'll go into Earth orbit for a little bit, make sure Orion's doing okay.
And then we are sending them, right?
going to send them farther into space than any humans might have gone before, 250,000 miles away,
and it's going to set up for the subsequent missions. That's why we're going into the golden age
of science and discovery right now, because you're going to see a moon rocket launch in 2027.
When we do our testing with the lander, we're going to go for the landing on Artemis 4 in 2028,
and in parallel, we're going to build the moon base, right? And that is going to be filled
with science, discovery, and tech demonstrations that's going to support the enduring presence
we're trying to create on the surface.
Absolutely. So, honestly, history making years ahead of us, you know, with Artemis III and IV,
but first is Artemis II. What will be our single greatest takeaway from this mission?
Well, I'll tell you, I mean, after ignition, to me, the moment that I'm going to be most excited
for is splashdown. There's no question about that. Good shoots coming down off the West Coast, but
look, I think the takeaway from this is gaining extreme comfort in the Orion spacecraft, right?
I mean, this is very different than what we've done for more than a half century, right?
I mean, the velocities that that spacecraft is going to re-enter at,
it's going to be new territory for us. We want to get our arms around that completely.
So I would say the performance of SLS plus Orion is everything on this one. We want to make sure
we do it in a safe way as we possibly can, understanding what we are undertaking right
here. Bring our crew back, learn as much we can from the vehicle set up for Artemis 3 in 2027.
Right, and Administrator, we've actually had a pretty young audience today here, some kids
running around the balcony. How do you hope Artemis 2 inspires that next generation?
You know, I talk about this all the time, like, you know, one of our, I think, overarching KPIs
that we should always be tracking is the number of people living and working in space. Well,
you know, it's another strong number too in that one. It's a number of kids that are dressing up as
astronauts for Halloween so that they grow up, that they're inspired to want to join in this
Grand Endeavor whether they come work with us here at NASA or they join in
industry but they're helping humankind venture out farther pursue all the
secrets of the universe. Yeah I think we'll see a lot of kids dressed as
astronauts this year and finally Jared you've really made it a personal mission
to get to know the people behind the work at NASA. Do you have any final thoughts
any final words before today's history-making launch? Yeah well one I
want to express a lot of appreciation. I'll tell you what the the four
astronauts on top of Artemis II know this. It takes an army to pull a
mission together like this right across all 10 of our centers all of our all of our commercial
partners the international partners that come together to make this possible my sincere appreciation
for everyone who is currently working the mission right now so getting them ready for launch that
will be watching over them in mission control recovering this crew when they splash down off the
the west coast i have complete trust and confidence in your abilities and everybody else who's not
not directly working on Artemis II.
Artemis III is coming up next year.
When this mobile launcher gets back in the VAB,
we're gonna start stacking.
Wow, plenty of excitement ahead of us.
Garrett Isaacman, thank you so much for being here.
Thank you, thanks for being here.
Of course, all right.
And with that, let's get back to the countdown
with NASA's Megan Cruz.
Under 25 minutes and counting from the opening
of our two hour launch window,
and take a look at all these people behind us.
I literally every moment I turn around and I see the clock,
I am like, oh, wow.
Oh, wow.
There are more people and less time.
Yes, exactly, which is a great problem to have.
Now, this first crewed test flight of NASA's Artemis program
coincides with the 250th anniversary of our country's
founders signing the Declaration of Independence.
Exploration is a part of America's DNA,
and it continues now with our return to the moon.
250 years ago, 13 colonies laid the foundation for the greatest and most enduring democracy
in the history of the world, one driven by courage, faith, and freedom.
From that moment, we became a nation defined not by where we stood, but by how far we were
willing to go.
We conquered vast frontiers, invented tools that shaped a modern world, we found light
in the dark, and we rose from the Earth.
Faster, higher, farther, we pushed beyond the sky and into the unknown.
We carried our courage into the cosmos, and we planted the American flag on the moon,
defining achievement of American superiority in space. Today, our curiosity stretches
farther than ever. American robots search ancient rivers on Mars. New telescopes unfold
to glimpse the first stars. And, a new generation prepares to return to the moon, this time,
to stay. For 250 years, America has carried the light of humanity forward. But America
An exceptionalism isn't inherited.
It's earned.
Our greatness comes not only from what we've done,
but what we're still determined to discover.
Because in every era across every horizon,
America is at its best when it's reaching for something
greater.
America celebrates 250 years, and we are leading the world
into the future.
22 minutes, 15 seconds and counting from Artemis II, NASA's boldest test flight in
a generation.
The crew has said this often that they hope it inspires children around the world and
recently a group of kids here at Kennedy Space Center got a surprise of a lifetime while
watching that rocket roll to the launch pad.
Did you see it?
Okay, so everybody's looking at the problem because it is kind of cool and impressive.
One of the coolest things happening over there right now is it's on top of a journey tractor.
Does it help to come in like tubes?
It's like plastic bags.
It happens like...
There's not having to see sushi in bags.
It's probably hard to see sushi in bags.
That's the sushi master.
My favorite part was this long little girl, she had a question.
She patiently held her hand for a long time and then Stephen Trent said,
Okay, what's your question?
She just goes, I forgot.
That's a perfect little kid moment.
Wait, are you my mother's taxi to the astronauts?
What's it going to be?
Never mind.
It's going to be hard to say.
You're in this!
These two got me.
This is the best part.
Oh, yeah.
I like your dabbing astronaut.
It's just so fun to see these guys in the energy
and a little bit of chaos.
Three, two, one.
Go, astronauts!
Wasn't that so cute? I love kids and their excitement and you know even just being real like I don't remember what I know, but I'm glad you're here.
Now here we are Space Center Houston, the crowd has exponentially grown throughout the day. We started showing you live shots from in there, probably an hour ago and now take a look at all the people there getting ready to witness history together. It's something really special to be able to witness something like this together.
Yeah, you know we've heard from celebrities and officials and kids and you know it's just it's
amazing people from all around the world came here today to Florida to watch so it's it's something
it's hard to put into words just how much support for this mission we're seeing today.
And great news too remember the team was tracking an issue with the launching system battery
They appear to have cleared that issue, so we are go for launch.
Yes, it's exciting.
U.S. Space and Rocket Center here, Huntsville, Alabama, waving to the Artemis-2 crew sitting right there inside Orion.
inside of 20 minutes from the opening of our launch window and right now we are
targeting the top of that launch window so we could be launching here in about
19 minutes, Nicole. Wow, I don't know if I expected this today. I'm excited and
you know I'm glad they were able to clear the problem with the battery on the
LAS and everything has gone really smoothly today. It's been great. The
weather cleared up. It's a beautiful day for a launch. And so now as we are so
close to possibly launch now. Just what are your final thoughts as we are about to embark on
a mission back to the moon the first time in more than 50 years?
Yeah you know just so proud of the crew and all of the teams here on the ground that made this happen
you know they are carrying the torch from the Apollo era into the Artemis era
and you know it's the crew likes to say they want to be the shoulders of the next generation.
And let's see, I see JLS, can you help us with that, please?
They want to be the, the crew wants to be the shoulders that the next generation can climb on.
The last time, 001A.
Yeah, I think it's, it's in their patch. We're going for all. It's in the name of their capsule, integrity, representing humility, and the professionalism of everyone that got them there today.
So proud of them, we love them, we're excited for them,
and we cannot wait to see what they see.
Just leveraging everything we've learned so far
as an agency, taking us from Apollo,
now to the launch pad here, 39B,
with Orion and SLS poised to again,
fly us into the history books.
And before we leave you now here at the host desk
to get back into operations,
We just wanted to answer one question for you guys.
We asked you earlier on today,
what are you most excited for?
And we asked you to go vote on Instagram and Twitch.
Instagram, you guys said launch, Twitch,
you guys said lunar flyby.
So I think you guys will all be very excited
since we are now about 17 minutes
from the opening of our launch window today.
And so with that, as we approach terminal count,
let's send it back to Daryl now in firing room one.
Daryl.
All right, thank you, Megan and Nicole,
and I just want to give you an update
on the launch abort system that they,
you just reported that they cleared.
They believe, they're convinced,
this is an instrumentation failure.
So there are two batteries on the last,
the last of course, and with the help of
Materials Sun's model rocket,
Daniel said I could use this, so it's okay.
The last is right here, it's the tower above Orion.
Orion capsule is inside of here,
it's used to pull Orion off the rocket in case the rocket is something's going on with
the rocket either on the pad or in flight. Two batteries are bad. Well, I'm sorry, one
of the two batteries reported an out of family temperature and it was very much out of family.
And so they checked their data going back into the vehicle assembly building where they
recharged the batteries and worked on them. And they have good solid data they reported
it tells them that this is an instrumentation failure,
there's something wrong with the sensor.
And so they took it before the mission management team,
which has to accept the risk,
any changes to launch commit criteria,
which this would be one,
and they all fully accepted it.
So now we are clear as far as that constraint is concerned.
And one quick thing, as we count down now,
we are getting into the final minutes before liftoff,
there's a two hour window.
We haven't quite set the T-0 yet, but this is a list of the cutouts.
There are 150 cutouts that are included for this two-hour launch window.
And that's important, they're in very small print.
That's important because there's basically 16 minutes inside this window
that they cannot launch.
And these are because of small things flying in orbit.
There's a lot more things in orbit than there were back in Artemis 1 when we had
35 to 40 cutouts so that for that reason because these 156 cutouts they're
going to be managing the launch window as we go forward so they may have to wait
out one of these cutouts they range in time between two seconds to 23 seconds
but you'll hear the NASA test director talk through that we're getting ready to
merge that loop from NASA test director Jeff Spalding.
So now I'm listening to the launch team,
get ready to merge their operational channel.
We're now entering one of the most consequential phases
of launch day, and that's terminal count,
the final 10 minutes.
And OTC NTD N212 for Com check.
Good, Com, help me.
I hear the same, STC?
Two.
TTC?
TTC is on two and two.
All right, copy that.
NASA test director Jeff Spalding confirming communications
with his team.
There will be two poles that we'll hear.
One from Spalding, the NASA test director confirming
ground systems and the launch team are ready to proceed. At this point, we have a clear board,
no constraints, but we need confirmation from each individual on the NASA test director team.
So we'll hear him poll his team. The other poll that we're waiting for is the poll from launch
Director Charlie Blackwell Thompson who will take that final status from NASA
management before giving the go to come out of a hold. Now you're seeing the clock
count down at L minus 12 minutes.
CCL OTC Ryan Earth 1.
CCL.
Yes sir reconfigure ARS primary loop isovalve.
Copy that from work.
And CDRO to C Ryan Earth 1.
Go.
as loop-eye-survives are being closed at this time.
Integrity copies.
NGDLP.
Go.
As I had a discussion with CIS and with Mer Manager regarding the observation the CIS
had a few minutes ago, they were able to confirm the BCI photos of the condition that they
observed has been there since 1995.
Mer Manager has a chance to review the findings and they do not have any constraints from either
a CIS or MIRMATRA perspective.
Okay, copy all, and watch director entity copy.
Yes sir, I copy that's good news.
OTC, CCLT-1-2.
OTC.
ARIS, primary loop isolation valve configuration complete.
Copy.
and CGLS entity, cancel pending please.
CLS copies, and that's complete.
All right, and for all personnel,
we got a little bit more work to do
before we pick up the clock,
and we're about a little over a minute
from getting to T minus 10 minutes,
but we've canceled the resume time there,
and then we'll pick it up after we get through all of our work
and anything else that we need to do
to get through the remainder of counts.
So we'll continue working that to get to our T zero today.
So, when we get to about 50 seconds from now, we'll extend that hold.
CVSE OTC.
CVSE, 4298.
Looking to verify that we are configured for assent.
Yep, give me about two more minutes.
I'm going to start the CMA-2 streaming.
Copy.
NPD, COSE, hold requested.
Copy that.
I have an LCC violation of O-CT-004, S-band transpander anomaly.
This was a transient LCC violation, so transponder 1 had a demodulated SNR estimate that went
down to 2 dBm.
When it should have been between 10 and 13, it is now back up to 12, but we did lose that
for just a moment.
It does not appear that we lost our bit sync or carrier lock, which would be indicative
that we lost our lock with the vehicle.
So, at this point, recommendation would still be go.
However, we do have a pre-planned contingency procedure if we want to look at that.
But, again, this is transient, so we're back in a nominal range.
All right.
Let's see, LPNTD.
Yeah, we're not seeing that hit.
So, I guess the question for COSC, was that less than three samples?
Was that below our persistence?
Stand by.
Let me look.
It did look like it did persist for several seconds online, but let me take a look
with a number of samples.
Could I get a repeat on the affected LCC, please?
Yes, ma'am.
That's going to be O-CT-004.
Thank you.
going to look at the data right here. It looks like that was a single sample.
Yeah, copy that. RFTS does report that they also lost lock for about five seconds. So,
I would love to ask KUSNC if they also lost lock with the vehicle for any extended amount
of period.
And COSE, while we're doing that, these are one-tenth Hertz measurements, correct? So,
So we would have had to lose it for over 10 seconds to get a second sample.
Yes, sir, that's correct.
It is 110 hertz.
Yes, so from our perspective, the allowance is effectively up to 30 seconds, up to three
samples based on the 110 hertz.
This is not an LCC violation, I believe.
Yes, sir.
I would agree with that at this point.
Copy that.
We're checking with KUS and 232, I don't think they have 212 access, we're trying to verify, but it sounds like they have a loss of lock as well, about two seconds.
Okay, and I guess for both KUS and COSC, do we have lock now?
That's affirm, we do have lock for COSC.
Yeah, so from the integration council perspective, we did have a temporary loss there within
the allowable and per the requirement.
Let's go.
And it's Houston Flight.
We have lock and we have good telemetry here in GSE.
And KUS is reported today.
Have good luck now.
So with all of that OSC, then are we in a go configuration per your LCC?
Yes, sir.
Recommendation would be go.
Okay, LPE, you concur with that?
Yes, sir.
LPE concurs go.
And launch director?
Yes, sir.
Launch director concurs go.
All right.
And I'm going to go ahead and just verify everybody has everything else complete, launch director.
And if we do, we'll be ready to pick up the poll at that time, unless there's something
else that you're aware of.
No, sir.
Let's verify all our work is complete, and I would like one last check of our constraints
list.
All right.
Let's see.
OTC.
I'm waiting for ComConfig or are you coming to the firm, sir?
Okay, you got your own open item?
Yeah, OTC, this is the CAC that, uh,
400 step 290 is complete.
Copy.
Okay, so OTC is complete with all your work?
That's a firm.
All right, copy that, STC.
STC is complete.
And GTC?
GTC is complete.
Okay, excellent.
All right, and LPE, uh, just want to verify we have no open constraints at this time.
No open constraints.
We have a clear board, sir.
Okay, tracking the same here.
And launch director with that we are clear and ready to pick up the launch readiness
poll with your go.
All right sir, I am go for the poll.
All right.
And for all personnel, this is the entity conducting the Artemis 2 launch readiness check.
Verify ready to resume count and go for launch.
OTC.
OTC is go.
STC.
STC is GO.
GTC.
CSCO.
MCO.
CSCO is GO.
Safety console.
Safety console is GO.
LPE.
LPE is GO.
RTD.
RTD is GO.
Houston Flight.
Houston Flight is GO.
ROCK.
ROCK is GO.
And CDR.
Crew is GO.
Copy that.
Thank you, Reed.
And Launch Director, NTD.
Our launch team is ready to proceed at this time.
All right, NTD, copy all.
At this time, I'll perform my polls.
Attention on the net.
This is the launch director performing the final poll for launch.
Verify no constraints and go for launch.
EGS, EGS, Program Chief Engineer.
All of the Chief Engineers are go.
Copy. Thank you.
EGS, Chief Safety Officer.
The Artemis CSOs are go.
I'll be thanking Range Weather.
Launch Weather is go.
Thank you LWO and Artemis MMT Chair.
MMT is go.
Thank you John.
And Integrity Launch Director.
Today we're with Charlie T.L.T.
Thank you Charlie.
This is Victor.
We are going for our families.
MS1.
This is Christina.
We are going for our teammates.
MS2.
This is Jeremy.
We are going for all humanity.
All right, Charlie.
Our Artemis II crew is go for launch.
Full send.
I copy that.
Read Victor, Christina, and Jeremy.
On this historic mission,
You take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people
and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation.
Good luck.
Godspeed Artemis II.
Let's go.
And NPD launch director.
Go ahead, launch director.
Yes, sir.
You have a go to proceed with countdown.
Copy that.
I'll put it in work.
CDR entity.
Go.
Figure risers and initiate short purge
pre-reproc 10.1.1, steps eight and nine.
10.1.1, eight and nine, going to work.
Copy.
CVSE entity, start and verify recordings of our Orion cameras.
Copy.
OK.
Well, there you heard it.
We're getting ready to start terminal count.
It's currently at T minus 10 minutes.
Once we wrap up this last bit of work,
we're going to start that clock.
We're going to start that clock.
We're going to start that clock.
We're going to start that clock.
You heard an issue, worked in real-time with telemetry lock on the Orion.
It was transitory.
It was very short.
They checked the data, confirmed that they had a good lock.
This was with the S-Band transmitter on the Orion.
Worked through that issue, looked at the data, and cleared it, all with the world watching.
Impressive work by the launch team.
So we have a two-hour window, which starts in just a few minutes at 6.24 p.m. Eastern
time and goes until 8.24 p.m. Eastern Time. And ECL entity will be waiting for
your verification on the short purge. ECL copies. And for all personnel, once we
get that short purge verification, we'll verify that we are clear to go and then
we'll proceed with the terminal count.
You see all time estimate?
About a minute.
Copy.
So I'm going into the launch window, but not by much it looks like.
wrapping up some final work and once that's completed you'll hear NASA test
director Jeff Spaulding ask for the ground launch sequencer operator to go
ahead and start the clock. The ground launch sequencer is an application
software it runs on top of the launch control system in the firing room acts
It's like a conductor of an orchestra executing hundreds of commands in precise order and timing.
It's all autonomous.
Entity, CCL 212, Schwerpert's initiation is verified.
All right, copy that.
And we're verifying our constraints.
All right, and we're clear from cutouts.
And with that, we're going to resume the clock momentarily.
And CGLS, you can resume the clock on your mark.
GLS copies, three, two, one, mark.
GLS mainline has been initiated.
T minus 10 minutes and counting.
And that begins terminal count.
Our new T0 is 635 p.m. Eastern time.
635 p.m. Eastern time.
We are now counting down to lift off of Artemis 2.
From now on, you're going to hear two voices on the loops.
If everything goes nominally, NASA test director Jeff Spalding,
who's directly managing the launch team, and Alex Bendelews,
the GLS operator who closely monitors the software,
he has the ability to stop and restart the countdown.
A lot of people ask about whether there's a launch button, there certainly is none.
And the flight and rock, our new T-0 is 2235-12.
Mr. Plank, copy.
Rock copies, 2235-12.
Affirm.
There you heard confirmation of the exact T-0, 635 and 12 seconds PM Eastern time.
Again, our T0 is 6.35 and 12 seconds PM Eastern time, but as I was saying, there's no launch
button.
This is autonomous, but there is a button that keeps you from launching, and that button
allows the GLS operator to pause the countdown outside of terminal count and during terminal
count and submit a hold to the next holding point, so the clock won't stop right away
if there's an issue.
We'll go to the next stable holding point.
This is how GLS configures the rocket and ground systems to a stable point where they
can stop the countdown if that's needed.
But right now, we are counting down.
Our next big milestone looking to retract the crew access arm.
GLS is go for crew access arm retract.
And there you see the crew access arm moving away.
That's the path that the astronauts took to ingress into the rocket.
Until this point, that was their way off the pad if they needed to evacuate.
But now with that arm retracting, the backup transitions to a launch abort system.
And they'll begin arming that shortly.
Of course, the launch abort system, great shot there of the crew access arm retracting
away.
The launch abort system is the tower at the top, and that's what would pull Orion and
its crew off the top of the rocket in case of an emergency, whether it's on the ground
or in flight. This is critical safety hardware that protects the lives of the astronauts.
Starting at T minus six minutes, the GLS will start bringing that and other high energy
systems online, starting with core stage pressurization.
is 90% go, the range is go, all systems are go.
GLS is go for core stage tank pressurization.
That means the replenished valve for the liquid hydrogen tank has now closed and that tank
is beginning to pressurize to flight levels because that hydrogen is naturally boiling
inside the tank. We'll get the liquid oxygen tank a little later in the count. Now the
team is waiting for verification that if needed, the Artemis II crew could use the launch abort
system to pull Orion safely off the top of the rocket in an emergency. Let's listen in
for that call. TLS verifies last capability available. And CDRD copy. CDR copy is last
available. That's great news and you heard the NTD verify that with the commander of
the mission. TLS is go for FTS arm. Now work is being done to arm the flight termination
system. This is so the range safety can send a flight termination command if the rocket
flies too far off track. There is a brief built-in delay so the launch abort system
has time to pull the astronauts to safety first.
The high flow bleed check.
The high flow bleed check. So the cryo team gets verification that the RS-25 engines,
All four of them are in the proper temperature range for launch.
GLS is go for core stage APU start.
Core stage APU start, those are auxiliary power units.
High speed turbines, which provide pressure to hydraulic pumps.
It's steer the RS-25 engines. We're going to see a gimbal test a little later at T-minus two minutes and 30 seconds.
This is what allows that to happen.
Coming up in about 20 seconds, we'll listen for go for purge sequence four.
It's a helium purge of the four core stage engines downstream of the propellant valve.
This gets all the air and moisture out of there.
Moving through the milestones.
all is looking good. Coming up in just a few seconds, we're going to get that thrust vector
control actuator test. This is a gimbling of the engines. There are the four RS-25s, three
of them, shuttle heritage, one of them built from shuttle parts, and there you see them
moving.
Now we're going to start moving the power from both the upper stage and the lower stage
of the rocket to internal, taking ground power away and now going to battery power.
GLS is go for upper stage.
Our powers are moved from the rocket's upper stage, the ICPS and it's been switched to
battery, same milestones for the lower core stage coming up at T-minus 1 minute and 30
seconds.
The four-person Artemis-2 crew is 248,000 miles away from the moon, and if all goes well, it will fly by it in six days.
PLS is go for core stage and power.
All right, there's the rocket's core stage, which houses three flight computers, is now on its own power.
There's no more hold time because there's no more margin on these batteries, so we'd
have to recycle back to T minus 10 to recharge if we had a hold.
One minute.
Right now the rocket does not know what the T zero is, but coming up at T minus 33 seconds,
shifts from the ground launch sequencer to the rocket's on-board autonomous launch sequencer
or ALS. The rocket will count itself down, but honor any holds that could come from the
ground. Now shortly after liftoff, Houston will take control of the rocket and my colleague
Gary Jordan to take over commentary.
ALS, go for ALS.
Great call out. The rocket is on its own. Four brave explorers ready to ride the most powerful
rocket NASA has ever launched sound suppression waters flowing and here we go 10 9 8 7 rs 25
We have engines in the lift.
Four, three, two, one, booster ignition.
And lift off.
The crew of Artemis 2, now bound for the moon.
Humanity's next great voyage begins.
Good roll pitch.
Roger, roll pitch.
Houston now controlling the flight of integrity on the Artemis-2 mission around the border.
The integrity, AMT high.
AMT high.
Long time passing 37s, up to the lines.
Integrity passes the ultimate vehicle.
Target milestone.
Mission control Houston safe, good performance, good engines,
space lumps, system core stage.
integrity, three miles in altitude, traveling more than 1200 miles per hour.
We have a lot of time.
Mission elapsed time. Passing one minute. Approaching Max-Q.
On. Ponce de Leon.
Stand we on. You loud and clear. Ponce de Leon.
Have you the same?
Communication signal transfer confirmed as integrity and its crew go supersonic.
Approaching 90 seconds into the Artemis-2 mission.
Integrity is 14 miles an ounce to eight miles downrange, traveling more than 2,600 miles per hour.
One minute fifty seconds of mission elapsed time standing by for main engine throttle
down to eighty-five percent and solid rocker booster separation expected at the two minute
9 second mark.
We see throttle down.
Converge separation.
Main inch is throttling up, guidance converged.
Your integrity, guidance converged,
performance nominal, upper stage RCS ready.
Copy all, Stan.
And integrity, SM climbing complete.
SM climbing complete.
Two minutes 45 seconds of mission elapsed time into the Artemis II mission.
The thrusters on integrity and upper stage confirmed that already stayed ahead of service module fairing separation.
3 minutes into the flight, integrity 49 miles in altitude, 78 miles downrange, now passing
5,000 miles per hour.
standing by for Launch Board System, Jettison.
Houston integrity, good last Jettison, great view.
Copy Jettison, T-Mico 8 plus 0-2.
We see a sail on board, Stan.
And Houston has you loud and clear on T-Dress at the Common Line.
Outstanding, stand where it is.
Three minutes fifty seconds into the flight of Artemis-2, Weisman, Glover, Cook, and Hansen
cross the boundary to space with good com checks.
GPS signals acquired after last jettison now working on internal checks to verify accuracy.
Flight Dynamics Officer analyzed the time of main engine cutoff confirmed at eight minutes
two seconds time of MECO.
We'll see you in a minute.
Outstanding stand, we see the same, and we have a beautiful boom rise, so we're headed
right at it.
Approaching five minutes into the flight, Commander Reed Wiseman confirms he can pass
visuals of his destination, GPS guidance navigation, and control software finishes internal checks
and sends to navigation channels.
Your integrity, three engine pressed.
Three engine pressed.
On time now passing five minutes, 20 seconds of mission elapsed time into the Artemis II mission.
At this point, three good main engines are all that's needed to carry integrity to a nominal main engine cutoff target.
At this time, we're seeing four good engines here in Mission Control Houston.
Integrity 75 miles an altitude 330 miles downrange, approaching 10,000 miles per hour.
Good trajectory and engine performance.
Officer will soon report the shutdown plan to Flight Director Judd Freedling
expected at the seven-minute mark. Integrity 78 miles in altitude, 460 miles
downrange. Integrity expect nominal shutdown.
Take it to copies nominal shutdown.
6 minutes 40 seconds of mission elapsed time.
Shutdown plan is as expected.
Again, the time of MECA was confirmed at 8 minutes 2 seconds into the flight.
7 minutes of mission elapsed time.
Throttling down as we approach the abort once-around option, milestone at the 7-minute 30-second mark.
Now, 84 miles in altitude, 650 miles downrange, traveling more than 15,000 miles per hour.
Integrity, AOA open.
AOA open.
The window is now open for an abort once-around option
that would target splashdown in the Pacific Ocean,
still following nominal ascent at this time.
About 10 seconds remaining until the main engine cutoff
of the Space Launch System core stage, standing by for confirmation
of MECO and core stage separation.
Intermediate and nominal MECO core stage separated.
We can see the same on board stand.
A minute and 40 seconds into the flight we have a nominal main engine cutoff heading
in the right trajectory on the way to swing around the moon.
Core stage has separated, done its job.
The Space Launch System upper stage, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage or ICPS still
attached to the Orion spacecraft. Nine minutes of mission elapsed time, integrity crew of
Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook, and Jeremy Henson now in orbit around the
Earth at the beginning of their journey to the moon.
and looking ahead to PRM numbers so far per the pad.
Capcom, that's Stan, numbers for the pad.
Capcom, Stan loves.
We're now reminding the crew that the perigee raise maneuver time
of ignition is as expected prior to booster ignition.
That time being 49 minutes 50 seconds of mission elapsed time.
The integrity, good NEDS deploy.
Have a nice day, and good neds.
And Terry Houston for PWD FAP, just a reminder, halfway open on the secondary.
We copy that, that's halfway open.
Passing 11 minutes of mission elapsed time.
Overhearing the conversation between Capcom Stand Love and Commander Reed Wiseman,
already passing some milestones, we have a good nozzle extension deployment system.
That is confirmed complete.
We also have the visors are confirmed up now past the dynamic phase of flight that is ascent.
The, their launch and entry suits that provided them an extra layer of protection.
Now, not as needed.
They're going to raise those visors.
And later in today's mission, they will begin to egress or get out of the suits to begin some
of their initial tasks of activating some of the systems aboard in the integrity spacecraft.
It's passing 12 minutes of mission elapsed time.
Again, the perigee raise maneuver that's targeted near 50 minutes of mission elapsed time,
49 minutes, 50 seconds.
That's what the crew is going to be working towards.
The Commander Reed Wiseman pilot, Victor Glover,
will focus on preparing for that milestone.
In the meantime, Mission Specialist, Christina Cook,
and Jeremy Hansen will start some of the activation
of environmental control light support systems.
You may hear confirmation of their activation
over the Orion to Earth communication network.
Houston C-3 Ox tower back in auto.
Copy C-3 Ox and we're two minutes to maneuver.
13 minutes and 30 seconds of mission elapsed time.
We're going to continue to follow the crew
of the Artemis II mission.
They are beginning their journey around the Moon
to verify the systems that will take us to its surface.
An incredible ascent.
Artemis II is underway.
Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook,
and Jeremy Hansen begin their journey to the Moon.
Still milestones to come up as we await solar array deploy
and the critical burns that will get integrity.
It's a high earth orbit around the earth before engines are fired to get us around the moon.
We'll keep tabs on integrity and its crew from here in Mission Control Houston.
But for now, we're going to send it back to you, Megan and Nicole at the Kennedy Space Center.
Very jealous to hear how the launch experience was over on the Space Coast.
Yeah, Gary, people are just joining us. Welcome back to the Space Coast where we just saw Artemis
to lift off 14 minutes ago and wow what an amazing launch and an emotional one too
as soon as the rocket lifted off Nicole you had tears in your eyes I had tears in
my eyes and we had all these people around us cheering it was amazing yeah
the energy was wonderful I mean it was a beautiful launch you know we've got four
friends and family members headed to the moon it's pretty amazing yeah how does
that make you feel as someone who you know is an astronaut as well but also as
you said friends yeah so just so proud of them you know I man we don't have the
words in the English language to describe this kind of an event and pride, love, so many
emotions.
They are truly breaking some barriers and hopefully, as Gary just said, they've got
a long day ahead of them, so wishing them well on everything, but so far what a beautiful
launch to watch.
Yeah, to be returning to the lunar orbit in more than 50 years, maybe they go farther
from Earth than any other humans before them, maybe they see parts of the moon that we've
never seen before. I mean what a great start to what could be all of these
milestones that we break in just a 10-day mission. Yes, what a way to welcome
in the Artemis generation. Yeah, how do you feel? I mean we saw some beautiful
shots we were covering. Of course the rocket, of course the earth falling away
as we continued up up up into our sense, but also some of those crowd shots where
we saw young and old just emotional overcome by this history-making moment.
Man, we are going back to the moon for all and we saw that today.
We saw that in all the crowds.
And yeah, you guys just saw that view, the sunrise or sunset.
I guess they just made it over the crest of the earth.
And you could see the sun peeking over one of my favorite views from space.
And I can't imagine what they're, what they're looking at now.
And I can't wait to see what they're looking at in about five or six days.
Yeah.
And you know, I, I know a lot of people are like, you know what?
I'm, I'm surprised this launched on the first try because we know like any little
thing we have to be, uh, keeping safety in mind.
We want to make sure we're ready to go, but we were ready to go and I think it's surprised a lot of people
What a wonderful surprise on this one see you take it did you know and it kind of surprised me as well
But you know it's just a testament to the team here that has been working so hard on Artemis
You know Artemis one we learned a ton of lessons
We learned a ton from the white dress for Artemis to we were able to go in fix those things
We even had a couple mishaps today not mishaps, but a couple you know anomalies today that the team creatively came up with solutions for
It's just a testament to the teamwork that gets us to the moon.
And so we can continue to watch Christina, Reed, Victor, and Jeremy on their way now
to the moon in Earth's orbit and awaiting the next in-flight milestones, deploying Orion's
solar array.
So why don't we get back in with Mission Control and Gary.
Hey, thank you, Megan.
Again we're following along in the action.
It is a long day.
They have a number of procedures they need to get to immediately in their timeline.
And integrity Houston, cross-tie is on board for the FTDM.
We copy Houston.
Thank you.
Cross-tie referring to flight controllers here,
initiating a connection between some of the batteries aboard the Orion spacecraft,
allowing for an even distribution of power. This is the
flight control teams that took us through ascent of the Artemis II mission today.
Right now we're, as you see, passing 18 minutes of mission elapsed time.
time. The Orion spacecraft integrity and the interim cryogenic propulsion system are maneuvering
tail to sun. It is in this orientation, this attitude.
and integrity anywhere so not momentary pro-caution.
And read no action.
We're looking at it.
Commander Reed-Weisman verifying what is being routed
to his displays, a board integrity,
Propulsion engineer confirming that no action is needed at this time.
They're pressing through with their nominal procedures to prepare for the perigee raise maneuver.
And of course, the solar array wing deploy ahead of that.
The solar ring wing deploy is a critical milestone.
We'll continue to have our coverage follow the mission until that deployment.
Successful launch is just the beginning.
the deployment of the solar arrays and successful confirmation that those solar array wings
are drawing power is a significant milestone and says to the flight control teams that
we will continue on today's mission. Power needs to be drawn to be to continue through
some of the next milestones. Until then, the AOA open option that was called up on Pona
ascent, the aboard once around is the current option and the board to orbit option ATO will
be switched to a preferred mode at the time that the solar ray wings are deployed and
latched. It gives the flight control teams a little bit more flexibility.
The integrity Houston update on TDRS handover for your pad.
Can I give us just one minute?
Ben, Stan, you can read it like it's ready to copy.
Roger. TDRS handover east to west expected one second earlier at 5-1-minutes, two-six seconds.
Hi, Stan, we copy you one second earlier for 5126, Tegers East to West and SAWS are starting
to deploy, thermal knives are firing.
We concur, thanks for the report.
feedback of the reports that you just heard on the Orion to Earth network.
Integrity has maneuvered tail to sun.
The RL10 nozzle on the end of the ICPS is pointed towards the sun,
and the solar array deployment sequence has begun.
With the deployment confirmed, it will be several minutes until they are what is called in a latched position.
Once they are latched and confirmed to be drawing power,
they can switch the mode to ATO and continue along the mission.
The teacher's handover at the pad, that message meant the crew was provided,
the crew was provided some preliminary numbers of when to expect handovers
between the tracking and data relay satellites.
Currently orbiting Earth in an altitude of 545 statute miles above the Earth.
They are in a near-Earth network communication system,
the tracking and data relay satellites,
geosynchronous satellites that are stationed
about 23,000 miles above the Earth.
After the ABG rays burn, that occurs later today,
the burn itself will put them in an altitude
that surpasses the range of the tracking
and data relay satellites, and they will transition
to the deep-state space network today.
An integrity for prop messages, we see two temperature measurements right near the line.
It's a momentary message you saw earlier.
We're going to suppress those.
It's helium, heater 2T1 and heater 1T1.
They're going suppressed.
An integrity, thank you. We see the same.
This is Mission Control Houston, passing 23 minutes of mission elapsed time into the Artemis 2 mission.
This is after a launch that began at 535 and 12 seconds central times 635 and 12 seconds
p.m. Eastern time.
Right now the orientation you're seeing from our arrow visualization translates some of
the telemetry that we're getting from the spacecraft and puts it into a model so you
can follow along on some of the milestones that we are following here.
The RL10 nozzle that you see at the left end of your screen, though it is currently not
firing, that nozzle is pointed towards the sun and the solar arrays are currently deploying.
From this visualization, they look fully stowed in a position.
integrity we are happy to report that Jeremy has the O2 sensors on copy O2 sensors
again Commander Reed Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover overseeing the deployment of the solar arrays
and we'll follow the attitude maneuver changes ahead of the first burn of the ICPS engine the
Parachute raise maneuver.
Anitiri Houston, we see four saws deployed and latched ready for ATO preferred.
Yeah, we're almost there in the procedure stand and we see the same thing.
Anitiri Houston, we are seeing a seven second miscompair between the MET on Orion and ICPS.
We'd like you to read us the MET from your center status bar and for the ICPS on STACSOM.
And Stan, we see a completely precise alignment.
25, 14, 15, 16, precisely aligned with ICPS-MET.
Copy. Thank you for that. We'll investigate your ground issue.
Thank you. Is the integrity ATO preferred set?
Copy. ATO preferred.
This is Mission Control Houston, 25 minutes, 45 seconds into the flight of Artemis-2.
We have confirmation that all four solar array wings are deployed and latched.
This is the configuration needed to switch to ATO preferred, which you did here,
confirmed from pilot Victor Lover.
That mode has been switched.
There's also a discussion with Capcom's Stan Love and Commander Reed Wiseman
about the alignment of the MET clocks on the Orion spacecraft and the ICPS.
Commander Reed Wiseman confirmed the clocks are in sync.
No issues.
They're going to investigate it on the ground.
We're proceeding with today's mission, 26 minutes of mission elapsed time and counting.
you
you
This is Mission Control Houston.
We're approaching 28 minutes of mission elapsed time
into the Artemis II mission.
At this point, we've had a successful liftoff from the pad
at 535 p.m. and 12 seconds p.m. central time, 635
and 12 seconds p.m. Eastern time.
We've had a good main engine cutoff, core stage separation
and a good trajectory to begin today's mission.
Right now the spacecraft has maneuvered tail to sun.
We're standing by for another maneuver to maneuver
into the burn attitude.
This is where the RL10 engine of the ICPS is pointed
in the correct orientation for the PARA-G raise maneuver.
We did hear confirmation that the PARA-G raise maneuver time
of ignition has been confirmed per the pad,
which means it was the predicted time prior to liftoff.
Your integrity for GNC, we're taking channel one, two,
unfoltered and to BFS.
Okay, Stan, we're watching.
Go ahead.
Capcom, stand love, reading up to the crew of integrity.
They will switch the navigation source from channel one, standing by for confirmation
that that switch has occurred.
Pilot Victor Glover will receive confirmation when, and as at least watching to confirm
that that switch has occurred.
Again, the Paragie-Rays maneuver that we're heading towards,
not too long from now, we're actually inside 20 minutes
at this time from the time of ignition
of the Paragie-Rays maneuver.
We did have a successful deployment and launch
of all four solar array wings.
This is the configuration needed to commit to the perigee-raise maneuver.
Of course, flight controllers here in Mission Control Houston will continue to evaluate
that everything is good before committing to that burn.
The perigee-raise maneuver does raise the perigee, the lowest point in the orbit, from 15 to 100 nautical miles.
The 100 nautical mile mark is needed to continue in low Earth orbit and hit the target for the apogee-raise burn.
burn that will put them in a high earth orbit for the remainder of the day and set them up for the
right position to execute the trans-booner injection and head to the moon tomorrow.
The burn duration of the perigee raise maneuver is 26 seconds.
It's a relatively short burn but it does raise the perigee and do the job to get into the
correct position before firing that main engine on the ICPS. The pad had a
teacher's handover. This is the tracking and data relay satellites east to west.
They are geosynchronous satellites that are positioned around the globe and as
Orion makes its way around the earth right now above the west coast of Africa
at an altitude of about 923 statue miles and counting.
The perigee raise maneuver is not executed at the perigee.
It is rather executed on the, actually closer to the apogee.
But what it does is it raises the perigee
on the other end of the orbit to 100 nautical miles.
The 26-second duration burn does not conflict with the time
that they've reported of the tracking
and data relay satellite handover from teachers east
to west, again, geosynchronous satellites
that are used not only by integrity today
but the International Space Station as well.
The time of handover is 51 minutes 26 seconds, plenty of margin before the barrage erase
maneuver cutoff happens and the trajectory is analyzed to see whether it was a good burn.
burn means that the burn was performed as expected and sets the trajectory on course
for that 100 nautical mile perigee target mark.
Again, for those sticking with us on NASA Plus and following along on our coverage,
we will continue to follow and to cover the mission until, well actually we'll continue
to cover the mission 24-7, but we'll wrap up our coverage here shortly and now that
solar array wing deployment has occurred on NASA Plus and Amazon Prime.
Again, we will continue coverage 24-7 at the NASA YouTube channel.
For those that want to see all of the upcoming milestones, there are select times where we
will be coming back to NASA Plus and other streaming platforms.
You can go to nasa.gov to find the latest on when to find those activities.
Given that this is an operational mission, we do want to make sure that we are maintaining
transparency in the mission and providing you all the information on what's happening
in space as Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook, and Jeremy Hansen head on their mission
around the moon.
Inside integrity at this time, again, the solar ray wings have deployed.
The integrity is maneuvering to its burn attitude ahead of the execution of the Paragyraze maneuver.
Overseeing these steps is primarily done by Commander Reed Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover.
Mission Specialist Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen focusing on some of the system activation
inside of Ryan, namely the environmental and control and life support systems.
activation and check out if some of these critical systems are very important to continuing
on the mission, making sure that those systems are in a good condition and in a reliable
condition to provide the necessary environmental and control needs of the crew with humans
on board through the duration of the mission that extends 10 flight days.
I'm standing by for an update to the Paragyraze maneuver time of ignition, should be right
up to the crew very shortly.
Interie Houston, updated PRM numbers when you're ready to copy.
Hi Houston, we are ready to copy.
TIG is two seconds earlier at four, nine, or minutes, four, eight seconds.
TIGO unchanged at two, six seconds.
49, 48, TIGO 26.
This is Mission Control Houston with that update.
We are approaching a little more than 13 minutes from the time of ignition
of the Parity Raise Maneuver.
That time updated to be two seconds earlier was 49 minutes,
50 seconds of mission elapsed time.
We'll now move to 49 minutes, 48 seconds.
The duration of the burn, that's what was referred to as the TGO,
will still remain at 26 seconds, relatively short duration burn.
Again, just raises the perigee of the orbit today.
Making sure they hit the mark on that time of ignition is the primary concern
of Commander Reed Wiseman and Pilot Victor Lover.
Mission Specialist Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen inside activating those environmental
of control and life support systems.
At this time all four crew members are wearing the launch and entry suits.
Hey Terry Houston for Optimus on the PCD. We have time update instructions when you're ready.
And Houston integrity, we copy, hands are pretty busy at this time.
I think we will call you back when we're ready for that.
All right.
That one is not urgent.
Two minutes to maneuver to PRM attitude.
We are watching and concur.
90 seconds, maybe.
Pilot Victor Glover confirming that that maneuver less than two minutes, again,
that the point of that maneuver is to point the main engine of the ICPS, the RL10 engine,
in the proper orientation to execute that 26-second burner needs to point
in the correct position to achieve the goal of raising the perigee to 100 nautical miles.
You heard some of the environmental control system activations over Orion to Earth.
Jeremy Hansen activated the O2 sensors.
He'll be measuring the cabin of Orion.
With all, during all of the activations here on the ground in Mission Control Houston,
Flight Director Judd Freeling is doing a poll with all flight controllers in the room
the room to see if we are in a go position to go ahead and execute the
perigee-raised maneuver. Once concluded, Stan Love will report it back up to the
crew and we'll stand by for that.
The Anterdy Houston MCC pulls go for PRM pending attitude and saws.
Hey, we copy MCC's go.
maneuver starting.
40 minutes of mission elapsed time. The maneuver to the burn attitude has begun. The maneuver
also is paired with reorientation of the solar array wings that have been deployed. They will
have various positions throughout the duration of the flight. Of course, solar array is meant
to maximize the draw of power from the sun.
So when deployed, we're in a biased solar array wing
configuration that was called solar normal.
This allows for the greatest surface area
of the solar array wings to be drawing power
and powering up those batteries of integrity,
of which a cross-tide was enabled
between the four batteries, the four battery buses
that are inside of Orion.
However, for the Paragee-Rays maneuver,
the solar ray wings will be put into a position
to take on the loads imparted by the ICPS main engine
when they execute the 26-second burn.
You can see in the animation here, the solar ray wings are in motion and the attitude is
being reconfigured to point the engine in the correct direction, those solar ray wings
being pointed forward.
You're getting a live look inside the Artemis-2 mission flight control.
The team you see here oversaw the ascent of our four astronauts inside integrity, launching at 6.35 and 12 seconds p.m. Eastern time.
Now again, this room will be occupied 24 hours a day, seven days a week with flight controllers shifting on three shifts to oversee 24-7 operations of Artemis II while in flight.
flight. We will cover that live on the NASA YouTube channel, and we'll be covering that
around the clock as we begin to wrap up our coverage here on NASA+. Before I do, I do want
to send it over to our colleagues at the Kennedy Space Center. To my colleagues, it was a pleasure
to join the teams at the Kennedy Space Center and be a part of such a historic launch. Here
Houston again we're turning our attention to the mission and for now we'll say farewell
and thank you to our colleagues there for today's launch coverage. We'll see you again soon for
Splashdown. This is Mission Control Houston sending it back over to Megan and Nicole at the host desk.
Thank you Gary and yes it was such a pleasure to be a part of this historic mission that started
right here at Kennedy Space Center. It was such an amazing site to be a part of and now as Reid
Wiesman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen begin their journey. We
here at the Kennedy Space Center are about to wrap our broadcasts. We'll of
course though have 24-7 coverage with our colleagues at Johnson Space Center
starting as soon as we sign off so don't worry you can follow along our four
astronauts every minute of the nearly 10-day journey to the moon and back.
Nicole I'll definitely be watching it I'm sure you will too. Yes of course you
know they just started right the launch was beautiful this was a historic day
They are on their way back to the moon for the first time in over half a century
But they've got a lot of work ahead of them
And so we're excited to see what they have to do and excited to test out the Orion spacecraft
This is a test flight after all and we're excited to see what we can what we we can learn from this mission
very humbling inspiring it was really
Amazing to be a part of this and I'm so glad that so many people joined along by either watching here in person
Or watching online and of course Nicole. Thank you so much for sitting through this
answering questions adding so much context and and information that really
brought a lot out of what we saw today. I had a blast your rock star, your
professional, this was great. This was a wonderful day. Well again thank you so
much and thank you to you for watching at home. You know tonight we didn't just
launch a rocket, we launched the next chapter of human exploration. Our Artemis
2 crew now on their way back to the moon and we're taking you with us so thank
Thank you again for watching and go Artemis 2.
All four astronauts and it appears all of them are undergoing their suit leap checks.
Yes, a pre-flight tradition that we have seen with our crew flights at the card game.
The astronauts who have just left crew suit up and are now walking down a hallway.
Here they are, NASA's Artemis 2 crew taking their first steps outside for their historic
test flight.
And the four of them stubbornly took their astro-man and off they go.
Oh, this must feel so special to the crew to see all of these people here watching the
crew, walk across the crew access arm, getting a beautiful view. Everybody
configured with their suits, so here we go. The close-up crew has closed the
launch abort system hatch.
Three, two, one, booster ignition and lift off. The crew of Artemis 2 now bound for the moon.
Humanity's next great voyage begins.