The countdown to launch of the Artemis II mission, NASA’s first piloted moonshot in half a century, proceeded smoothly as engineers and technicians prepared the agency’s giant Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule for fueling and blastoff. Mark Strassmann has more.
– We turn now to the launch of Artemis II. If all goes as planned, at this time tomorrow, we will be tracking a SpaceX capsule beginning its voyage to the moon and beyond with four astronauts on board. Senior national correspondent Mark Strassmann joins us now from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with everything we need to know. Mark, good evening.
– Good evening, Tony. NASAs updated forecast here held at 80% favorable– not a guarantee of a launch tomorrow night, but promising.
NASA is now working an Artemis II checklist almost as long as this rocket. 500 launch criteria all need a green light to make tomorrow a go for launch. For a last-minute crisis. Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the launch director, showed us her abort panel. Pressing this red button would eject capsule and crew safely into the Atlantic Ocean.
Your hand lives very close to that red button for the last five minutes.
– Yes, it does.
– Because every second counts.
By tomorrow night, the Orion capsule could launch into low Earth orbit. Then it’s off to the moon for a nine-day, half-million-mile round trip. The capsule will curl around the moon’s far side, head back to Earth, and splash down near San Diego.
– This is the opening act in a series of missions that will send astronauts to and from the moon with great frequency.
MARK STRASSMANN: NASA administrator Jared Isaacman talked to us about the top mission priority.
– You’ve got four very brave astronauts that know that they are taking risks beyond any astronaut has ever done since 1972. So we want to bring our crew home safely.
– Have you had chats with them, text with them?
– I text them all the time. You need DoorDash? You need donuts? You need coffee? I’m here for you.
MARK STRASSMANN: Only 24 people have ever seen the moon’s far side, all of them American men. Christina Cook is about to become the first woman. She’ll space travel with three other people in a capsule the size of two minivans.
– What do you think that’s going to be like?
– It’ll be a little tight. Imagine a small RV and a road trip for 10 days that you can’t hop out of. But I think that’s something that we train for.
– Tony, getting to the moon will take four days. Once this crew pushes past the moon’s far side, they could travel farther from Earth than anyone in space history. Tony?
– Mark, very excited. Thank you very much. And I’ll be joining Mark at the Kennedy Space Center tomorrow. If liftoff is a go, we will have a special report starting at 6:00 PM Eastern.