Live : Artemis II Launch To The Moon

[Insouciant]

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Artemis II Launch To The Moon​

This is the official r/space live megathread for NASA's Artemis II mission - the first crewed launch of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft.

For the first time in more than 50 years, humans will travel around the moon to test deep-space life-support systems.

LIVE VIEWING FEEDS:

[OFFICIAL NASA] NASA's Artemis II Live Mission Coverage (Official Broadcast)

[NASASpaceflight] Artemis II Stakeout - NASA's Crewed Mission Around The Moon

[CNN] Live: Inside Missions Control For NASA's Artemis II Launch

NOTE: This thread will contain links to multiple different live viewing channels. The sub will remain in manual approval mode during today's launch window (and a few hours after it) to limit spam. As such, you are welcome to redirect anything you want to post separately in this time period to the comment section in this megathread.

MISSION INFO: At 6:24pm EDT (22:24 GMT) on Wednesday, a two-hour window will open for the Artemis II mission to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch window will remain open until April 6 for two hours each day after sunset. The mission can launch only when the moon, orbital paths, weather and Earth’s rotation line up safely.

This is the third launch attempt for Artemis II, after the first attempt was scrubbed due to a liquid hydrogen leak during a practice countdown in early February, and the second attempt was cancelled when engineers discovered a helium flow issue in the rocket’s upper stage in early March

The four-person crew will not land on the moon but rather perform a lunar flyby, looping around the moon’s far side before returning to Earth. At its core, Artemis II is a systems validation mission. NASA will use the flight to test the Orion spacecraft’s life support systems, navigation, communication links and overall performance in deep space with a crew on board – conditions that cannot be fully replicated on Earth. If successful, Artemis II will pave the way for Artemis III, a crewed low Earth orbit mission; then Artemis IV, which aims to land astronauts on the moon; and future missions that could establish a sustained human presence beyond Earth.

T-1 hour 14 minutes: They have fixed an issue at the flight termination system, the range is a go!

 

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Less than 45mins.to go before launch

 

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1 min ago

Weather has now improved for launch​

By Ashley Strickland

Launch weather officers have now shared a new forecast for liftoff that improves on the already 80% favorable predictions.

Conditions are now 90% favorable during the 2-hour launch window this evening, with clear skies visible at the launchpad — a welcome sight after rain showers briefly passed over the area this afternoon.

 

[Insouciant]

Issue is with one of the Launch Abort System batteriespublished at 05:50

05:50am​

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor, reporting from the launch

Nasa says the new issue is with one of the two batteries on the Launch Abort System. It is currently out of range, they say, which they are currently investigating.

The Launch Abort System sits right at the top of the rocket.

Were something to go wrong, either on the pad, or within the first three minutes of the launch, it would activate pulling the crew capsule away from danger.

It can go from 0 to 500mph (805km/h) in two seconds - and would only be used in the event of a real problem. But it's essential its working perfectly for the launch to go ahead.