ARCHIVED- Artemis 2 NASA Broadcast Part 1

The Artemis 2 mission is a test mission of the Orion space capsule. >> Artemis 2 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 core to who we are. That's a part of being a human. >> And lift off. >> We shall return. >> Continuing to test out every bit of Orion. Coming back to Earth 7 miles 7 miles. >> When humanity sets big goals, we can bring together genius from around the world. You have the best people on planet Earth putting this vehicle together. >> That's what's up. >> To innovate for the benefit of humanity and to inspire the world through discovery. And here we go. Good morning from firing room 1 at NASA's Kennedy Launch Control Center in Florida. You're looking at a live view of launch complex 39B where the SLS or Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are getting ready to lift off in a little over 10 hours for the AY's Aremis 2 mission. I'm Antonia Haram with NASA Communications and I along with my fellow commentators will take you through today's launch countdown and the rest of this historic mission. NASA will be providing 247 live coverage starting with our propellant loading operations and will continue throughout the course of this 10-day mission. Now, our Artemis launch director, Charlie Blackwell Thompson, gave the go to proceed with cryogenic propellant loading at 7:33 a.m. Eastern time this morning, which means pretty soon teams will start fueling the rocket with cryogenic or super cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. You can see on your screen there is a view of firing room one. That is where the Aremis launch team is currently on console and is getting ready to launch the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. Now, Artemis 2 is NASA's first crude Artemis mission. This test flight will send NASA astronauts Reed Weisman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission around the moon and back. Now, the countdown for this mission started on Monday, March 30th at 4:44 p.m. Eastern time. One thing to note about the countdown clock that you see on your upper left hand side of your screen there is you're going to hear us refer to what are called Lminus times and T minus times. Now, the reason we have these two different references for the countdown clock is because the L refers to how much time is left until the opening of our launch window or until launch. Think of it like the regular time that you see on your clock, always constantly ticking down. The T- clock, however, is specific to the actual countdown. Similarly to when watching a sporting um games event when you see the clock on the screen stop when the referee blows a whistle for instance. The same thing can happen with our T- clock. And the reason that is is because the launch team has inserted specific built-in holds throughout the countdown. Now, these built-in holds are pauses that the team has intentionally inserted in the countdown to provide them with some extra wiggle room or some cushion to uh to again just be able to go through all of their operations, continue um making sure that everything is on track to be able to meet the opening of that launch window. And also if they run into any issues throughout the countdown, this also provides them that extra time to be able to resolve them and still make again that opening of that launch window. Now, let's talk about today's launch window. The launch window is 2 hours long. It opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time this evening. Now, what does that mean, a two-hour launch window? It means that the launch team has two hours in which they can launch launch today's Artemis 2 mission. So if we don't go right at 6:24 p.m. that is okay. So again to quickly recap, our launch director gave the go to start our cryogenic propellant loading operations. That means right now the Aremis launch team is currently in what is called the chilldown phase for the SLS core stage rocket. Now the core stage is the first stage of the SLS rocket. It is the orange section in between the two solid rocket boosters that you see there on your screen. Now, chill down basically refers that we are going to be cooling down all of the systems and lines that are that will be feeding this propellant inside the rocket. The reason we chill down these lines is because we are feeding cryogenic or again super cold propellant on board. Liquid hydrogen to remain in a liquid state needs to be -423° F. On the oxygen side, it's -297 degrees Fahrenheit. So, very, very cold temperatures. Because of this, we then cool down these lines so that they don't so that we aren't shocking the system. We aren't causing any potential damage to the hardware and they're able to receive these super cold propellants smoothly and without issues. So again we are currently in chillown for both the core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks. Following chillown the teams will then start what is called slow fill. This will officially mark the start of propellant loading. That means that we will actually start loading that liquid propellant on board the rocket. Now, as the name suggests, slow fill basically refers to slowly start to load that propellant. The reasons they do this is because the teams are wanting to closely monitor that there isn't any leaks or any issues when we are starting our propellant loading operations. Now, following slow fill, teams will then transition into what is called fast fill. Similarly to how slow fill refers to going slowly, fastfill means we're going to go at a much faster rate. This will be the bulk of our propellant loading operations where teams are going to be in fast fill for the majority of the time. Now, following fast fill, we will then transition into topping. Topping just means that we are going to finish that last little bit that is needed to get us to 100% level in those tanks. Now because these are are are gases, these are liquid gases. As the temperatures start warming up, those gases will um that liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen will start venting off into a gas. Because of this, following topping, teams will then transition into what is called replenish mode. Replenish means just that. They're just going to constantly be replenishing these tanks so that we make sure we're at 100% level and we are at that flight ready level for when we enter terminal count. Now, I'll be reporting out as each of these operations and milestones are underway. our Artemis launch team. They're currently communicating with each other through these separate uh communications channels that I'll be tuning into and I'll make sure to relay as that information gets underway and they report those milestones and call outs out. Now, while we wait for slow fill to get underway, let's do a little bit of a recap of the entire countdown. Again, we said we started on Monday at 4:44 p.m. Eastern time. So shortly after the countdown started uh ticking down, teams filled the water tank for the sound suppression system. Now this is done to help protect the rocket and the support supporting groundruct structures that are there at the launchpad from the extreme heat and the power that's generated from the rocket's exhaust and it also helps suppress the sound that's produced at liftoff. Now, the Orion spacecraft, the core stage, which again is that first stage of the SLS rocket, and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage or the upper or second stage of SLS, were also all powered up for launch. The Orion and the core stage flight batteries have been charged. And at 4:14 a.m. Eastern time this morning, team started what is called the air to gaseous nitrogen or G&2 changeover. Now, this is a very important milestone to meet. Our launch director, technical assistant, Maddie Forestdale, kind of described it to as it's when we're really getting ready to get the party started. The reason for this is because it basically signals the team that we are on track to be go for propellant loading later in the countdown. And the reason for that is because the air to gaseous nitrogen changeover basically is helping prevent any potential fire hazards. It's a creating a clean inert environment inside the vehicle so that then when we are putting in those hazardous propellants there aren't any issues. So that started at 4 4:14 a.m. this morning and it was completed at 7:14 a.m. Eastern time. Now, as I mentioned earlier, the countdown for Artemis 2 does have certain built-in holds throughout the count. We are currently in our first built-in holds, which lasts 2 hours and 45 minutes total. Like I said, we're still currently in it, and we do have roughly about 38 minutes in counting until we exit that first hold. the other additional built-in holes that have been put in the countdown. Again, these are pauses that the team has purposely inserted to make sure that they can just get some extra cushion time if needed. That next one happens once we reach what is called all stages replenish. Now, all stages replenished just means that now the entire SLS rocket is fully fueled and teams are now just constantly replenishing all the tanks to make sure that it is always at 100% until we get into the final 10 minutes of the countdown. So, when we reach all stages replenish, that's when the teams are going to be ready to send our astronauts to the launchpad. Because of this, the teams have inserted this extra hold. It's an hour and 10 minutes that will happen again when we are at all stages replenish. Following that, we then have just one final hold in the countdown and that happens when we're then getting ready for terminal count. It'll be a 40 minute hold and it will happen roughly again about 40 minutes before we enter then the last 10 minutes of the countdown. So to quickly recap again, our launch director, Charlie Blackwell Thompson, she gave the go for teams to start propellant loading. We are currently in chill down for the core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Up next will be slow fill when we start loading that liquid propellant and I will report out when that is underway. Welcome back. This is Artemis Launch Control. For those of you that are just now joining us, this is our NASA live coverage for the Aremis 2 mission. We are starting our propellant loading operations and we'll be giving you 247 live coverage starting with our tanking operations and continuing throughout the rest of this mission. We're here in firing room 1. You can see there on your screen we have our Artemis launch team getting ready to launch the SLS or Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for the AY's Aremis 2 mission later this evening. Now, that launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time today. The team do have a 2hour launch window, which means that if we don't launch right at 6:24 p.m., they do have an additional two hours in which they can launch. Now, as you can see, it is a gorgeous, bright, and sunny day here on the Space Coast in Florida. Currently, you don't see any clouds inside, but I can confirm there are some pretty white puffy clouds. They don't seem to be a threat. In fact, our launch weather officer, he told the launch team that they have favorable and acceptable weather, not only for tanking, but also throughout today's countdown. Now, the teams will continuing to monitor the weather forecast as they as we get closer to today's launch window. We're currently predicting 80% favorable weather conditions for that 2hour launch window. We are currently 10 hours and 17 minutes and counting from the opening of the Aremis 2 mission. We are currently in what is called our chillown operations for the core stage liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tank. Now, chill down refers to getting all the systems and lines very cold and ready to receive these super cold cryogenic propellants prior to starting our actual tanking loading operations. Now, let's break down the SLS rocket. We start with the core stage. That is the first stage of the rocket. Then on top of the core stage you have what is the upper stage or that interim cryogenic propulsion stage. So in total for SLS there are two stages but there are four tanks in total. You have our liquid hydrogen tank on both the core stage and the upper stage and a liquid oxygen in both. So four tanks total both liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The core stage holds roughly 733,000 gallons. The upper stage, meanwhile, holds 24,000. So much smaller in comparison. In fact, the core stage is one of the tallest stages, first stages of a rocket that NASA has ever used for its missions. It's roughly 212 feet tall. Now, fully fueled, SLS weighs approximately 5.74 million pounds. Before fueling, which is where we're currently at, it is 3.5 million pounds. So, that means we're adding roughly 2 and a4 million pounds of propellant on board this rocket. That's quite a lot. Again to quickly recap, we are in chillown. The next step will be when we enter slow fill. Slow fill refers to when we actually start those propellant loading operations. Teams will start to slowly load those cryogenic uh propellants on board the core stage. And then we will start transitioning where we're going a little bit quicker. We call that fast fill. So, we will start blowing that propellant at a much faster rate. I'll continue reporting out as these milestones are underway. Now, on the spacecraft side, teams also have started what is called the Orion cold soak. Now, this basically refers to making everything super cold on the spacecraft. This is done in order to protect the avionics. So, we're not chilling the crew module, but we're making the thermal control system cold so that it can withstand all of the different temperatures that it's going to be seeing throughout today's countdown. That started quickly after we gave the LD go for cryolo. Now, Artemis 2 is a test flight. We're going to send astronauts Reed Weisman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook, and Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission around the moon. This is the first crude test flight for NASA's Aremis missions, and we're going to be testing the life support systems that are on board Orion, as well as conducting other operations. and demonstrations throughout the mission so that we can pave the way for our future Aremis missions when we send our astronauts to the moon. In fact, one of the uh new operations or the new demonstrations that the our our astronauts will get to perform throughout this mission is what is called the proximity operations demonstration. So after launch, after the upper stage, this will be roughly about 50 minutes after launch, the upper stage is going to fire its RL10 engine. It has one RL10 engine at the bottom. It will fire its engine so that it starts a 30-cond perigee raise maneuver burn. This is going to put the spacecraft or the Orion spacecraft this low point on its elliptical orbit as it's going around Earth. About an hour later, the upper stage will fire its engine again to begin a 20inut apogee raise burn in which point we're going to be sending the spacecraft to its highest point in its elliptical orbit around the Earth Earth. Now, roughly three hours and 25 minutes into the mission. So this is about again three and a half hours after launch. Orion will separate from the upper stage. At this point, this is when our astronauts, our crew on board, they're going to begin manually testing Orion's con controls and steering thrusters so that they can start what is called this proximity operations demonstration. This is basically a series of maneuvers that are going to have the um Artemis 2 crew flying Orion and practice approaching the upper stage and backing away for roughly 70 minutes. Now, the reason we're doing this test is so that again we can practice this for when we go and have Artemis 3 and we actually have Orion practicing docking with our lunar landing systems. Now, it is important to note that Orion won't actually dock with the upper stage for Artemis 2. Instead, it will get close and then drift and then go back and separate and then get close again. We really just want to practice those proximity operations to confirm we can do it. We can the spacecraft can get aligned with where it needs to be. And then following that, Orion will then fire its European service module engine for about two minutes so that it helps increase that separation distance from the upper stage. At this point, the upper stage will fire its thrusters just one final time so that it begins its disposal burn. Following that burn completion, that's when the uh small bread box size or those shoe box size uh secondary payloads that are currently inside the Orion stage adapter. If you see on your screen there up at the top, we have our Orion spacecraft. And then underneath there will be the Orion stage adapter. That is in between the upper stage and the spacecraft. It is where we currently house those secondary payloads. These are what are called a bunch of cubats. These are some science uh experiments that are being housed there and then they will separate with the upper stage and go to their respective destinations to conduct their scientific data. Now again following once those are ejected from the Orion stage adapter that's approximately 5 and a half hours into the mission. The upper stage will then send um will then go back on its trajectory and will re-enter over the Pacific Ocean about 26 hours after launch. Now during this time the Orion will remain in a high Earth orbit for about 25 hours before it executes its trans lunar injection burn. Now this is the burn that is needed so that it can head on and send our four astronauts around the moon and back. So that's just a little quick recap of what our next day looks like within the next 24 hours. But let's take you back to where we currently are at. Again, we are 10 hours and eight minutes and counting from the opening of today's launch window. That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time. We are currently in what is called chill down for the core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Next up will be slow fill when we start loading that liquid propellant. And I'll report out once that is underway. Welcome back. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 9 hours and 49 minutes and counting until the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. Now, that launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time this evening. teams do have a 2hour launch window which means that if we don't open right at the start at 6:24 they do have an additional two hours in which they can try to launch. Now the Artemis launch team which we see here on our screen they are getting ready to they are sitting on console getting ready to launch our Artemis 2 moon rocket. Now, the launch team just reported that we are now starting our propellant loading operations for the SLS or the space launch system rocket. We are currently in slow fill for both the core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks. This means that propellant loading is officially underway. We are now starting to load those super cold, these cryogenic temperatures onto the SLS rocket. Now, we're going to start from the bottom and make our way slowly up to the top. So, we'll first start with loading the first stage of the rocket. That's what we call the core stage. It is the orange section of the rocket that you see there on your screen that sits between the two solid rocket boosters. Now we are currently again in slow fill for both liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen on that core stage. Slow fill refers to as the name suggests to slowly start loading that propellant. Now we do this because these tanks are really large. In fact the core stage is one of the tallest first stages of a rocket. So that means these tanks are also very very large. In fact, the liquid hydrogen tank on the core stage can hold roughly 537,000 gallons. And then on the liquid oxygen side, it holds roughly 196,000 gallons. So because of this, because these tanks are so large, teams will start slowly loading this propellant so that they can monitor how the tanks, how the hardware is receiving these super cold cryogenic propellants. Once it looks like everything is underway and there are no issues, they will then transition into what is called fastfill, which is where we'll stay for the majority of our tanking operations. Fastfill means we'll now start loading the rocket at a much faster rate. Now, before the rocket is fueled, SLS weighs approximately 3 and a half million pounds. But fully fueled, it's 5.74 million pounds. And we are starting to fuel that rocket. So, it is going to start getting heavier and heavier. Now, we mentioned how the core stage that is the largest segment of the SLS rocket. In fact, it's one of the tallest first stages of a rocket that NASA has ever used. It's roughly 212 ft tall. Now, on top of it sits the upper stage or the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Now, that's roughly 45 ft tall in comparison. And then on top of that, you have what is called the Orion stage adapter. It is actually the smallest part of the SLS rocket and it is what holds our cubats. These are these shoe box-sized payloads or these scientific payloads that will be sent off into space following the separation of the upper stage from the Orion spacecraft. Now, it is the smallest part of the rocket at only roughly five feet tall. And then of course on top of the Orion stage adapter sits our Orion spacecraft. You can see there on your screen the Orion spacecraft that's on top. And then right there where we have our Artemis logo, that is what is actually called the crew axis arm. It is part of the mobile launcher. That is the gray L-shaped structure that is connected to the SLS and Orion spacecraft rocket. Now the crew access arm is very important as again that name suggests it is the access point for our astronauts or really any personnel to be able to access the spacecraft. So that is where in fact our astronauts Reed Weisman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook, and Jeremy Hansen, they'll be walking through there later on today when they are ready to board their spacecraft for their mission around the moon. So to quickly recap, we are now in slow fill for both liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen on the core stage. That is again the first stage of the SLS rocket. Following that, we will transition into fastfill and I'll report out when that is officially underway. Now, while we wait to get into fast fill, teams are currently not monitoring any any big issues in the countdown. It's actually been um things have been going really smoothly, fairly well. We are definitely hoping for things to continue that way. But let's talk a little bit about how everything that the teams had to do to get us to this point. So, teams first rolled the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to the launchpad for the first time on January 17th. Then on February 2nd, teams performed a wet dress rehearsal. Now, this was a rehearsal to practice loading the propellants on board the rocket, getting into terminal count, but not actually launching. So, it was like a practice test before launch. During that first wet dress rehearsal in February, we experienced a hydrogen leak, which following that test, teams then decided to perform another wet dress rehearsal. They did so on February 19th. and it was very successful. They didn't really see any hydrogen leaks throughout the entire count or any other leaks for that matter. And they were able to continue throughout all of the milestones that they had planned. Now, we did have to roll back on February 25th due to a uh helium issue that we saw on the upper stage of our rocket. teams noticed that the uh flow of helium to the upper stage was interrupted and and that meant that we had to roll back to the vehicle assembly building to help fix to uh fix that issue. The only way to access that area was inside the VAB teams did successfully fix the issue inside the vehicle assembly building and we were then ready to roll back to the launchpad on March 20th. Since then, the teams have been getting the rocket then ready for launch, and we entered our launch countdown on Monday at 4:44 p.m. Eastern time. Now, we are currently 9 hours and 41 minutes in counting from the opening of today's launch window. that opens at 6:24 p.m. And teams do have a 2hour launch window, which means that they have two hours in which they can launch starting at 6:24. We are currently in slow fill for both the core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks. Next up will be fast fill and I'll report out when that is underway. Welcome back. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 9 hours and 37 minutes and counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. Now, our launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time, and teams do have a 2hour launch window, which means they have two hours in which they can launch the SLS or Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft that will send four astronauts around the moon and back. Now, the Artemis launch team, they're currently in firing room one, like you see on your screen there. They are right now in the process of loading cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant onto the SLS rocket. We are now in our fast fill operations for the core stage liquid oxygen tank. This means that we just completed the slow fill on that tank and we have now transitioned into fast fill which means we are now starting to load liquid oxygen at a much faster rate. Now on the hydrogen side, we are still in slow fill for liquid hydrogen. So slow fill for liquid hydrogen, fast fill for liquid oxygen on the core stage. Now just to throw some numbers at you guys again, the hydrogen tank on the core stage holds roughly 537,000 gallons. The liquid oxygen tank, meanwhile, holds roughly 196,000 gallons. On the upper stage in total, that's also another 24,000 gallons. So you have four tanks over 750,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen that is being fed all to these engines to the four RS25 engines at the bottom of the core stage and the one RL10 engine that's at the bottom of the upper stage. And now why do we need so much propellant? Because we're sending our astronauts around the moon. We are going into deep space. We're going farther than we have since our Apollo missions in 1972. Now again, all of this liquid propellant feeds the engines that are at the bottom of those stages for this tremendous and magnificent rocket that we see out there on the pad. In fact, in total, SLS is roughly 322 feet tall. It's taller than the Statue of Liberty. and it will send our astronauts around the moon. We have our commander Reed Wisman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen. You can see them there on your screen. From left to right, you have Victor, Jeremy, Christina, and Reed. They'll be getting ready to start their day and get on board their rocket for their mission around the moon. Now, Artemis 2 is a test flight. This is the first crude test flight of the Aremis missions. We're going to evaluate the crude system performance in a deep space environment. We'll perform a flyby around the moon. We'll practice a proximity operations demonstration with the upper stage. All in preparation for our future Aremis missions for when we land humans back on the lunar surface. So to quickly recap of where we are in today's countdown, we are currently underway in our fast fill operations for the liquid oxygen tank on the core stage. That is the first stage of the SLS rocket and we are still in our slow fill operations on the liquid hydrogen side on the core stage. I'll report back once we have started fast fill for that liquid hydrogen tank. This is Artemis launch control. If you are just joining us, we are currently 9 hours and 23 minutes and counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. I'm Antonia Haramo in NASA communications and I along with our fellow commentators will be taking you through the rest of today's launch countdown as well as the rest of the Aremis 2 mission. NASA will be providing 247 live coverage starting with our propellant loading operations that is currently underway and will continue all the way through our splashdown operations. Now, the Aremis launch team, which you just saw there on your screen, they are in the process of loading cryogenic or super cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen onto the SLS or the Space Launch System rocket. That's a view of the rocket right there at launchpad 39B where it will lift off for the AY's Aremis 2 mission. Now, Artemis 2 is a test flight. We will be sending our astronauts, Commander Reed Wisman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission around the moon and back. Now, we are currently again underway with our propellant loading operations. We are in what is called slow fill for the core stage liquid hydrogen tank and fast fill for the liquid oxygen tank. Now slow fill refers to slowly loading that propellant. This is done so that teams are monitoring how the hardware is receiving this super cold hazardous propellant that is being onboarded on the rocket on the rocket. following slow fill that then transitions into fast fill when we start loading that propellant at a much faster rate. So oxygen is currently already in fast fill and liquid hydrogen will soon follow suit. Now you can see there on your screen on the rocket there's a you can see maybe some little like checker marks that look to be on the solid rocket boosters. Those are the uh two nose cone shaped boosters in between um on either side of the core stage. Now what do those black and white checkerboards and squares and circles means? Well, these are our photoggramometric markings. They serve they serve as imagery references for the engineering photo and the video documentation as um for the post-flight analysis of how SLS attitude and its position relative to the uh the ground structure during liftoff and ascent performed. So they're not just on there randomly. Uh they do serve a purpose and it is again for all of that post-flight analysis. Now, let's take it back over to the firing room and let's take a look at our launch team. You can see there you have Charlie Blackwell Thompson. She's right now walking around on the first upper level road. She is our Artemis launch director. She's currently wearing a green blazer and you might see some other folks around the room also wearing green a lot. Why green? Well, at NASA, we love our superstitions and we love our traditions. And for the launch team, green is one of those um fun traditions that they like to carry on. Um green for them means go. So they wear green for good luck. Now, the launch team, they communicate with each other via these communication channels to update how we are in the countdown. I'll be monitoring those loops, and I'll report out as each call out is made. The team actually just reported that we have now transitioned from slow fill to fast fill on the core stage liquid hydrogen tank. This means we are now in fast for both liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Now, following fast fill, teams will then transition into what is called topping. Topping just refers to finishing up the last little bit that is needed to get to 100% level on both tanks. Once we finish topping, we will then enter what is called replenish mode. And this means that the teams are just constantly replenishing these tanks to maintain 100% flight level. This is done because as the temperatures of these liquid propellants naturally warm up throughout the countdown, they will start venting off into a gas state. And so because of that, the teams want to constantly be replenishing the tanks so that they're not losing any propellants and we're going down from that 100% level. So again we are now in fast fill for both core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen on the upper stage. Meanwhile, we haven't started our propellant loading operations there. I will report out once that process is also underway. teams will first start with chilling down the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank. And because the upper stage is so much smaller than the core stage, it actually gets to skip a step in its propellant loading operations and it goes straight from chill down to fast fill. And really, this is done again because of the sizes of these tanks. On the core stage, you have the liquid hydrogen tank that fits roughly 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen. The liquid oxygen tank, meanwhile, holds roughly 196,000 gallons. In total, that's about 73,000 gallons on the core stage alone. on the upper stage. Meanwhile, the total amount of propellant is roughly 24,000 gallons. So significantly smaller and because of this they are able to go straight from chill down into fastfill. Now again we have not started our propellant loading operations on the upper stage also known as the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. I'll report out once that process is underway. But to quickly recap, we are in Fastville for the core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Now, all of these tanks on both the core stage and the upper stage are going to feed the engines underneath those both stages. On the core stage, there are four RS25 engines. You see them there on your screen right there. So, both the liquid hydrogen and the liquid oxygen tank, they feed those four RS25 engines that start at roughly tminus 6.36 seconds until liftoff. That's when they get ready. And then on the upper stage, the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tank feed that one RL10 engine. Now, combined with the solid rocket boosters, SLS produces roughly 8.8 million pounds of thrust. In total, it is 322 feet tall, taller than the Statue of Liberty. In fact, let's break down the rocket for you a little bit. So, up there at the top, we have our Orion spacecraft. Right underneath is actually then what is called the Orion stage adapter. That's when the SLS rocket actually starts. The Orion stage adapter is the smallest portion of the rocket, roughly 5 feet tall. Underneath that is then our upper stage or that interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Then you'll see this nose cone orange shape underneath. That's the launch vehicle stage adapter. It's actually enclosing part of that upper stage for protection. Underneath the cone-shaped structure is our core stage. That is the first stage. It has that pretty butterscotch color. And that is due to the thermal protection system, the foam that is used to again protect the rocket. On either side of the core stage are the two solid rocket boosters. And then down right at the bottom are the four RS25 engines. All right. So we are in fast fill again for core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. I'll report out when the next milestone is underway and when we start our upper stage loading operations This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 8 hours and 58 minutes and counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time later today. teams do have a 2hour launch window in which they can try to launch. So, if we don't launch right at 6:24 p.m., that is okay. You're looking at a live view of our Artemis launch team. They are in the process of loading liquid propellant on board the SLS or the space launch system rocket. We're currently in the process of loading liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen on the core stage of the SLS rocket. Now, the core stage is the first stage of that rocket. You can see there on your screen, it is the orange section in between the two solid rocket boosters. That's actually a great view of our rocket at launchpad 39B. I mean, you can see it is a beautiful day. We have some puffy white clouds, blue skies. All in all, very favorable weather. In fact, our launch weather officers, they've been predicting 80% chance of go for our launch window this evening. Now, there at the bottom of the rocket are our four RS25 engines. Each engines are roughly the size of a compact car. The solid rocket boosters, those are the two white rocket boosters and um on either side of the core stage. Each booster is taller than the Statue of Liberty and they also hold the entire weight of the rocket. Now, fully fueled SLS weighs 5.74 million pounds. And again, you can see on your screen, you might see some um some gas that's being vented off underneath the uh the rocket and the mobile launcher. The mobile launcher is that gray shaped structure that is connected to the rocket. It's essentially what is providing all of the power, the propellant, the coolants, everything, all the access point to keep the rocket and the spacecraft alive and functioning and running until it is ready for launch. Now, that gas that you're seeing being vented off, it doesn't mean we're getting ready to lift off anytime soon. It's just that natural boiloff that is coming from the propellant that is being fed to the rocket as it naturally warms up over time. So totally normal. We expect to see it. You'll probably expect to see it some more as we actually transition and continue with our propellant loading procedures and move forward into the upper stage, which is that second stage on top of the core stage, also known as the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. When we also start loading propellant on board that second stage, you might also see some gas also starting to uh vent off at that higher level. In fact, you see there on your screen is a nice better closer up view of the upper stage and then our Orion spacecraft up on top. Now, let's take you to a graphic of where we currently are in our tanking operations. You see there on your screen on the left hand side, it will tell you how far we are in our core stage loading operations. We're currently 28% of the way filled in liquid oxygen and about 30% of the way filled for the liquid hydrogen side. Meanwhile, for the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, that upper stage, you see it's all grayed out there because we haven't begun that um propellant loading operations. I'll report out once that is underway, but for right now, we're just focusing on the core stage. Now, in the meantime, while the launch team is right now starting to fuel fuel the rocket and that propellant loading is underway, our astronauts are getting ready to wake up and start their day. As a reminder, we will be sending four astronauts around the moon and back. Commander Reed Wisman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen will go on a 10-day mission around the moon. Artemis 2 is a test flight. where we are going to test the life support systems with our flight crew on board. This is NASA's first crude Artemis mission and it will pave the way for our future Aremis missions for when we land humans back on the lunar surface. So to quickly recap, we are in fast fill for our core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. And I'll report out once our upper stage propellant loading operations are underway. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 8 hours and 45 minutes and counting from the opening of today's launch window for NASA's Aremis 2 mission. Now, that launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time, and teams do have a 2hour launch window, which means that they can try launching within those two hours if they are unable to hit it right at the start at 6:24. Now, the Aremis launch team is currently loading super cold or cryoggenic liquid propellant onto the SLS or space launch system rocket. We're currently in our fastfill operations for the core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks. And the teams just reported that they are also now starting their chillown operations for the liquid hydrogen tank on the upper stage or that second stage of the SLS rocket. You can see a great view of it there on your screen. It sits right up on top of where you have the uh the nose cone shape structure that's orange. Up on top there is a portion of that upper stage also known as the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. And then if you're curious the uh nose cone sh uh structure shape that is called also the launch vehicle stage adapter it is a part of the rocket and it is enclosing also a portion of the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. This is done for protection. So you don't see uh the engine that's underneath that second stage but it is underneath there hidden behind the um the launch vehicle stage adapter. So again we are now starting our chill down for the liquid hydrogen on our upper stage. Following that we will then transition into fast fill for liquid hydrogen on the upper stage. Meanwhile on the core stage that is the first stage of the rocket. Fast fill is already underway. There's a great profile shot. So right underneath that nose cone shape is then that cylinder orange structure that is the core stage. It is one of the tallest first stages of a rocket that NASA has ever used for any mission. It's roughly 212 feet tall. In fact, in total, the SLS rocket on Orion spacecraft sit at roughly 322 feet tall. Now I'll report out once chillown is complete on the upper stage and we have transitioned into fastfill. As a quick recap, Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch no earlier than 6:24 p.m. Eastern time this evening. teams do have a two-hour launch window. And this mission will be sending four astronauts around the moon and back. We'll be sending NASA astronauts Reed Wisman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission. They actually just got the go not too long ago to actually start waking up and officially start their launch day. Now that's a great view of our SLS rocket at launchpad 39B. Oh, we just switched it. But as you saw there, it's a gorgeous day here on the space coast. We have some beautiful blue skies, some puffy white clouds. Our launch weather officers are predicting 80% chance of favorable conditions throughout our 2-hour launch window. Now, of course, if there are any changes or updates, we will make sure to provide those to you. In fact, NASA will be providing 247 live coverage of this entire mission, starting with our propellant loading operations, which is currently happening, and we'll continue all the way through our splashdown procedures. You can see there on your screen how to watch Now, lasting approximate approximately 10 days, Artemis 2 will send four astronauts to test the Orion spacecraft in a high Earth orbit before becoming the first astronauts to fly around the moon since the Apollo 17 crew in 1972. Again we are in fast fill for core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and we are in chill down for the liquid hydrogen tank on our upper stage or interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Good morning from Florida Space Coast. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 8 hours and 30 minutes and counting from the opening of today's launch window for NASA's Aremis 2 mission. I'm Antonio Haramo in NASA communications. And if you're just joining us, the space launch system or SLS rocket is in the process of of cryogenic propellant loading. That means the launch team that is currently in firing room one that you see on your screen there are loading the cryogenic or super cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen on the SLS rocket, fueling it for flight. Now, the team just reported that we have now started our fast fill operations on the liquid hydrogen tank on our upper stage of the SLS rocket. That is also called the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. It is the second stage of our SLS rocket. You have a great view of it there on your screen. Up at the top, if you see, you have the Orion spacecraft. Underneath there will be then actually the smallest section of the SLS rocket known as the Orion stage adapter and then quickly and then shortly underneath that is our interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Now teams are now starting the fast fill operations for liquid hydrogen. Now fast fill as the name suggests means that teams are just loading this propellant at a faster rate. Now following the liquid hydrogen operations on the upper stage, teams will then also work on then their propellant loading operations for the liquid oxygen tank that is also in there. In total, the SLS rocket has four tanks, two liquid hydrogen and two liquid oxygen, one of each on each stage. So you have there our upper stage or the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and then underneath sits the core stage that is the first stage and the main stage of the SLS rocket. It is the orange segment that you see there on your screen in between the two solid rocket boosters. We are also in our fast fill operations for both liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen on the core stage. So fueling is well underway and everything is looking good so far for that o for our 2-hour launch window that opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time this evening. Now Artemis 2 is scheduled to lift off from launch complex 39B. That's what you see there on your screen. That's where SLS is currently situated. And it is a gorgeous day here on the space coast. We have some beautiful white cloud um some beautiful white puffy clouds and some clear blue skies. We're looking at 80% chance of favorable weather conditions. And our astronauts that are getting ready to launch on this historic mission are now starting their day. They woke up not too long ago and we'll pretty soon go through all of the checkouts and steps that are needed before they're ready to get on their rocket. There's a picture of them on your screen there. From left to right, we have the pilot, Victor Glover. Then you have our mission specialist, Jeremy Hansen, and right next to him is our other mission specialist, Christina Cook. Next to her is then our commander, Reed Wisman. These four astronauts will go on a 10-day mission around the moon and back on board the Orion spacecraft. Now, fun fact, you see again there, we were talking a little bit about the different sections of the rocket and we mentioned briefly the Orion stage adapter. Now, the Orion stage adapter is the uh the last section of the SLS rocket. It's what sits in between the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and the Orion spacecraft. And it's also what houses our secondary payloads or these shoe boxiz cubadats that will be providing and conducting scientific experiments. They'll be deployed shortly after separation from the upper stage and the spacecraft and they will go to their specific destination in space to conduct scientific data. Now, inside the Orion stage adapter, fun fact, our astronauts, so Reed Wisman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook, and Jeremy Hansen, they actually got the opportunity to sign the interior of the OSA or that Orion stage adapter. So, their names are on that rocket. It is fully built by NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Now, going back to the upper stage, that interim cryogenic propulsion stage, it holds roughly 24,000 gallons of liquid propellant. The liquid hydrogen tank is approximately 17,000 gallons and the liquid oxygen is a roughly 6,000 gall. Much smaller in comparison to the core stage that holds roughly 733,000 gallons total. You have a 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen on the core stage tank and then roughly 197,000 or 196,000 on the liquid oxygen tank. Fully fueled SLS weighs about 5.74 million pounds of thrust. And now all these four tanks, the one on the upper stage and the one on the on the core stage, they feed all those tanks, they feed into the engines at liftoff. So the core stage will feed the four RS25 engines that you see at the bottom of your screen there. And the upper stage meanwhile will feed its one RL10 engine that is actually enclosed by the launch vehicle stage adapter. That is the nose cone shaped orange structure that you see on your screen there. It is actually uh hiding the RL10 engine from our view. But this is done on purpose to protect the uh the upper stage. So to quickly recap, we are in fast fill for liquid hydrogen on our upper stage. We have not started our propellant loading operations on the liquid oxygen tank yet. I'll report out once that operation is underway. And on the core stage, meanwhile, we are still in our fastfill operations for both tanks for both liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 8 hours and 6 minutes in counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. Now, that launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time this evening. teams do have a 2-hour launch window, which means that if we don't launch right at 6:24, they do have an additional two hours in which they can try to launch. Now, the launch team, which we see here on our screen, they're currently in firing room one at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, they're in the process of loading liquid propellant onto the SLS rocket. Now, it's not just the launch team that's here in the firing room that is helping and is on on console for today's launch, but we also have supporting teams across the country that are tuning in to this countdown. One of those teams is actually the Aremis mission management team. They recently just got here on console. They have a a se a separate section and room. If you actually look, it's to the right hand side of our launch director and assistant launch director, Charlie Blackwell Thompson and Jeremy Graver, respectively. Over there on the right hand side where you kind of see that uh glass enclosure structure in there is where our Artemis mission management team will sit for the duration of today's countdown. Now, they just recently arrived on console. And apart from the mission management team, we also have the mission control team at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and the SLS engineering and support center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. And this doesn't include the other several contractor locations that are also around the country supporting this launch and this mission. So again, you have our prime main launch team that is here in firing room one. Charlie Blackwell Thompson. You see there she's wearing a green blazer. She's our launch director leading this team. But then there are also supporting teams that are also assisting the launch team throughout today's countdown. That includes the Aremis mission management team, the mission control team in Houston, and the SLS engineering and support center at NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Center in addition to several contractor locations that are located around the country. Now, as we mentioned, we are currently in our propellant loading operations for the SLS rocket. Teams are currently in fast fill for both core stage, liquid hydrogen, and liquid oxygen. The core stage is the first stage of the SLS rocket. Here's a great graphic where you can see where we currently are at in our tanking operations. And you'll see above the core stage, we have also started our loading operations in the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. This is the second stage of the SLS rocket. Now, we have not started loading liquid oxygen yet. I'll report out when that is underway, but in the meantime, we are good with um we are in the process of loading liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen on the core stage and liquid hydrogen on the upper stage. I'll report out when we are now starting our liquid oxygen operations on the upper stage. Welcome back. This is Artemis launch control. We're currently 8 hours and 1 minute in counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Artemis 2 mission. I'm Antony Haramo and NASA communications and I along with our fellow commentators will be taking you through today's countdown. And actually joining me currently in the room here in firing room 1 is our assistant launch director, Jeremy Graver. Jeremy, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. >> No problem. Good morning, Tony. Happy to be here. >> You know, Jeremy, I think we recently heard the call out that our flight crew, our astronauts, they just got their wakeup call. Can you run us through kind of what the rest of the day now looks like for them? >> Absolutely. Yeah, they were woken up uh just a a little while ago. uh they'll get up uh as most of us do on a on a busy exciting day. Uh get up, they'll get their breakfast, they'll they'll kind of get into the groove of the day. They'll go through uh multiple meetings and discussions just to understand uh where we are. Uh in a little while, the launch director and our flight director will uh provide a weather briefing for the flight crew to talk about all of the weather potentials that could uh play into today's uh uh launch opportunity. Uh once that's complete, they will uh then start getting suited up and they'll head to the suit room, start doing all their preparations from a a suit up perspective. As that's completed, uh they'll be checking with us to make sure that uh we're ready for them to come to the pad. And then they'll be on their way uh headed out to the pad in the astro van ready to get out to launch pad 39B, get up on top of the mobile launcher onto the 274 foot level, go across the crew access arm into the white room and enter the Orion spacecraft. So we're really excited for the for those events later today. >> It is it's a very busy and exciting day like you mentioned. I hope they got some good rest and didn't, you know, wake up a bunch of times throughout the night. I know I certainly did. Um but just because of pure excitement like you mentioned. Now let's shift focus back on the rocket. Uh how's propellant loading going? >> Everything is going very well right now. As I uh stepped off console to come in here, uh the core stage LH2 tank was about 95% uh uh loaded. The upper stage is probably about halfway and moving towards their uh completion for LH2. The liquid oxygen side of the core stage is in fastfill as well. and uh uh proceeding well and we will be getting into the upper stage LO2 loading in a little while. So all things moving uh per schedule and uh and working towards that that plan for the day. >> That is great news. And actually I think we just heard that they got the um the go for transitioning into that liquid hydrogen um on the core stage two topping. So like you said, we're getting very close. >> Absolutely. >> That is exciting, you know. So can you tell us a little bit then about those upcoming milestones once we finish that propellant loading on all four tanks? >> Yeah, so it's absolutely critical for us to get into what we call stable replenish on all stages. And what that means is the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks on both the core stage and the interim cryo propulsion stage or ICPS um are fully loaded and we are just maintaining that level of of loading and that's a very uh quscent configuration for us and that's required for us to be in that configuration to then be allowed to send the flight crew our closeout crew which is there to assist the flight crew uh getting on board uh Orion um we need to be in that stable replenish configuration to be able to send those crews out to the launchpad. And as we send those crews out, that is really uh our press and our push to to launch. We will get the crew on board. Uh they go through a number of checks, communication checks, system checks, and then our closeout crew's job is to back out of the crew module, close all of our hatches, get us in configuration to be able to then the closeout crew to leave the pad. And that puts us in uh the configuration to allow us to proceed through the rest of launch countdown as we proceed down to uh our final hold at t-minus 10 minutes where we do all of our launch polls uh and determine that we are ready to pick up with what we call terminal count which is from t-minus 10 minutes down to launch at t0 and uh really excited to get to all of those milestones as we proceed through the day. >> We are all very excited. We're we're rooting for you guys, watching along. And as you mentioned, you know, the reason to get to um all stages replenished first is because that's um that's the point we're at we're at the safest configuration to send people back to the launchpad. Correct. >> That is absolutely correct. It is a a very stable configuration. It's the safe configuration that we require to ensure that uh we're ready to send those crews out to the pad. >> Jeremy Graver, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. We're we're rooting for you, wishing you the best of luck, and we'll let you get back on console. >> Excellent. Thank you, Tony. Appreciate it. Go Artemis. >> Go Artemis. All right. And so, just to quickly recap, we are now in our topping phase for liquid hydrogen on the core stage. We are still in fast fill on the liquid oxygen side for the core stage and also fast fill for the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank. I'll report back once we have entered our topping phase for liquid oxygen on the core stage. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 7 hours and 47 minutes and counting from the opening of today's launch window for NASA's Aremis 2 mission. That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time this evening. Now, the teams do have a 2hour launch window. So, that means if we can't launch right at 6:24, that's okay. They still have an additional two hours in which they can attempt to launch. Now, currently the Aremis launch team, which you see on your screen there, they are in the process of loading cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant onto the SLS or the space launch system rocket. The teams actually just reported that we have completed loading liquid hydrogen onto the core stage of the rocket. Now, the core stage is the first stage of that SLS rocket. There's a great graphic representation of where we currently are in our tanking operations. So, as you see, we are at a 100% level for the liquid hydrogen tank on the core stage. So that means we are now the teams are just going to be constantly replenishing that tank as some of that ga uh as some of that liquid starts boiling off into a gas due to the temperatures as it starts warming up. So teams will therefore replenish it constantly to maintain this 100% flight level. Now, as you can see, right above the hydrogen tank sits our liquid oxygen tank. That's currently 70% of the way filled. And then on our upper stage or the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, this is the rocket stage that sits on top of the core stage. We are currently in our fastfill operations for liquid hydrogen on that upper stage. teams have not started liquid oxygen for the upper stage and that is totally normal. That is part of the countdown. We aren't scheduled to start our upper stage liquid oxygen loading operations until we start getting into um until we get much further into our um loading operations for the liquid oxygen tank on the core stage. So again we are now in replenish for the core stage liquid hydrogen tank and we are in fast fill for the liquid oxygen tank on the core stage and the liquid hydrogen tank on the upper stage t on the upper stage. Now a quick recap on how the whole tanking loading um process goes. Teams will first start with what is called chillown. So, prior to us actually starting to load the super cold propellant onto the rocket, they will first chill down all of the systems and lines. This is done to make sure that it is able to receive these super cold temperatures. In order for hydrogen to be in a liquid state, it needs to be -423° F. Oxygen in a liquid state is -297° F. So very very cold temperatures and as such we want to make sure that we are conditioning all of the systems to be able to receive those cryogenic temperatures so that we aren't shocking the hardware and we're not causing any potential damage unnecessarily. Now following chillown we will transition into what is called core um into slow fill on the core stage. Now, slow fill, as the name suggests, refers to slowly starting to feed that propellant onto the rocket. This officially marks the start of our propellant loading. teams actually got into slow fill for the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks on the core stage earlier this morning a little bit before 9:00 a.m. Following slow fill is then when we transition into fast fill. This is where we stay for the majority of our tanking loading operations. Similarly to slow fill, fast fill refers to loading propellant at a much faster rate. And that is currently where the liquid oxygen um tank state is in. We are in fast fill for liquid oxygen tank on the core stage. Now after fast fill, we transition into topping. This is the last little bit that is needed to fill the tanks to 100% level. Hence why we're topping it off. Following topping, we are now at 100%. And so now we transition into replenish mode. Replenish just means we're going to be constantly replenishing these tanks so that we make sure we are again at 100% flight level. Now you see on your um on your screen there, we can see some venting coming off the rocket. This is totally expected. As we begin our loading operations, some of that liquid propellant starts warming up. It'll start to boil off and vent outside of the rocket. Hence why we see some of that gas getting um getting expended from down underneath where the engines are at the bottom and also a little bit at the top where the upper stage is located. So again, an expected condition. Now let's take you through um the rocket a little bit. See up there on your screen, we have the Orion spacecraft. Underneath there is the Orion stage adapter. The Orion stage adapter is what houses the uh our secondary payloads or these uh scientific cubats. They're shoe boxiz uh scientific experiments that will go to space following separation from the upper stage and the spacecraft. It's also the smallest section of the SLS rocket at only 5T. Underneath the Orion stage adapter sits the interim cryogenic propulsion stage or that second stage. Underneath there is our core stage or the first stage of the rocket. Now the core stage, it consists of the propellant tanks, the ducts, the valves, avionics, and it also houses the four RS25 engines that are down there at the bottom. Next to the core stage, we have our two solid rocket boosters. Each is taller than the Statue of Liberty. Now, on those rocket boosters, you can see our NASA worm. The worm logo spans 25 ft end to end or roughly the length of one booster motor segment. Now, we actually have five segments each on each booster. So, 10 segments total. It's actually one segment more than what was used during the space shuttle program. Now, you should also be able to see some uh some black and white markings um around the rocket. Now, these are used for imagery uh for the SLS engineering and support team that's based out at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. They use this for imagery to track and guide the rocket after liftoff and during ascent. And it will also be used in their post-flight analysis. Now the orange color of the core stage is the thermal protection system or that spray-on foam insulation. Now this provides the thermal protection for every part of the rocket. And when the foam is applied, it gives the rocket this light yellow color that the sun's ultraviolet rays eventually tan, giving our SLS rocket its famous butterscotch color. So again to quickly recap, we are in replenish mode for the core stage liquid hydrogen tank. We are about 75% of the way filled on our liquid oxygen tank on the core stage, but we're still in fast fill. I'll let you know when we transition into topping for the core stage liquid oxygen tank. And then on the upper stage, teams are also in fastville for liquid hydrogen and they have not started the liquid oxygen operations on the upper stage yet. I'll make sure to report out all of these milestones as they're underway. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 7 hours and 30 minutes and counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time. And teams do have a 2hour launch window, which means that if we don't launch right at the beginning at 6:24, they do have an additional two hours in which they can attempt to launch. Our launch team is currently in firing room one at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and are in the process of loading cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant onto the SLS or the Space Launch System rocket. Now teams did just complete fast fill for the liquid hydrogen tank on the upper stage or our interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Now fast fill refers to loading propellant at a faster rate. This is preceded by chillown which gets the system ready to receive these super cold temperatures. And then following fast fill teams will then transition into topping and replenish. I'll get more into those. But before that, again, we just finished fast fill for the liquid hydrogen tank on the upper stage. And teams are now performing before they start topping what is called a vented relief test. This test is basically just pressurizing the upper stage tanks with heliums to test the relief capabilities of the tank pressure to make sure that it can handle that pressure capability during flight. So between fast fill and topping teams will perform this test on both the liquid hydrogen and the liquid oxygen tanks on the upper stage. Following that test completion, we will then transition into topping, which just means finishing loading the rest of the tank to 100%. Following topping topping, we enter what is called replenish mode. Which basically just means that now we are going to be replenishing these tanks at 100% level because as we naturally get throughout the countdown, that propellant is going to start warming up and it'll start boiling and venting off as you can see on your screen there what is happening. So because of that and because the teams want to make sure that they still have 100% level in all four tanks, the two on the upper stage and the two on the uh core stage or the first stage of the rocket, they continuously replenish the tanks until the final 10 minutes of the launch countdown or what is known as terminal count. Now, speaking of replenish mode, we are currently in replenish mode for the core stage liquid hydrogen tank. So, we were just talking about how we finished fast fill on the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank. We are also then in replenish mode for the core stage liquid hydrogen tank. On the liquid oxygen side, we are still in fast fill for the core stage liquid oxygen. And then on the upper stage, we haven't started those liquid oxygen operations yet. The teams want to wait until we are a little bit further along in the core stage liquid oxygen loading operations before we transition into that upper stage loading operation. Now, in total, the SLS and Orion rocket and Orion spacecraft are 322 feet tall. At liftoff, SLS produces 8.8 million pounds of thrust. a little bit more than the Saturn 5 rocket that was used during the Apollo missions, which were roughly 7 and 12 million pounds of thrust to send those astronauts to the moon. With our SLS rocket though, you don't just have those liquid o um those liquid uh fuel tanks that are fueling the rocket, but you also have two solid rocket boosters that are attached on either side. You see they're on your screen right there. They also help provide that extra push and that thrust right at liftoff. Now, let's go up a little bit on the rocket. Go back to our upper or our second stage, our interim cryogenic propulsion stage. For those that have been following us along since Artemis 1, you might remember that the interim cryogenic propulsion stage for Artemis 1 provided the big push to send the Orion spacecraft on its way to the moon. For Artemis 2, however, it's going to be a little different. And the reason for that is because Artemis 2 is NASA's first crude test flight, meaning we are sending astronauts on board this rocket for the first time. And because of that, we are going to have the capability to practice a bunch of different systems and tests and operations that we couldn't do if it were uncrrewed. One of these operations is what is called the proximity operation demonstration. This involves the upper stage or that interim cryogenic propulsion stage and the Orion spacecraft practicing proximity maneuvers where they where the Orion spacecraft will practice approaching and getting away from the upper stage in a high Earth orbit. The reason teams want to practice this is in preparation for Artemis 3 and future Artemis missions for when Orion docks with our lunar landing systems. And so because of this, this means that the interim cryogenic propulsion stage will be separating from Orion much sooner. Meaning that following this demonstration, it will be Orion's European service module that will actually send the spacecraft on its trajectory to the moon. It will perform what is called the trans lunar injection burn. Now this proximity operation is scheduled to happen during the first day of flight. So pretty soon and NASA will be providing you with 247 live coverage starting right now as we have started as we have been going through our propellant loading operations and we will continue throughout the course of the entire mission including all of the splashdown operations. Artemis 2 will send NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Cook, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission around the moon and back. Orion is scheduled to splash down off the coast of San Diego in the Pacific Ocean. So to quickly recap, teams are in the process of performing a vent and relief test on the liquid hydrogen tank on the upper stage following finishing their fast fill operations. Again, this test is to just test the uh the tanks that they can handle the um the pressure that will be um happening during this first day of flight. Following this test, it'll we will then transition into our topping phase on the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank and it'll then transition to replenish on the core stage. Meanwhile, we are still in fast fill for the liquid oxygen tank and we are in replenish for liquid hydrogen. Now, this is a very, very big and important milestone to me because again, for those that have been following us along, especially with Artemis 2, during our fast fill operations on the core stage liquid hydrogen tank during wet dress rehearsal one, that was our um first test of this Artemis 2 moon rocket where we tested loading the propellants on board. teams experienced a liquid hydrogen leaks shortly after getting into Fastville during that first test. They then performed a second wet dress rehearsal where they did not see any major leaks. Tanking loading operations went very smoothly and it was a very successful test. And so it's great to see that throughout today's countdown for launch, there also weren't any significant issues or leaks reported during our liquid hydrogen loading phase on the core stage. So we are now in replenish mode for liquid hydrogen. We're about 84% of the way on the liquid oxygen tank and we're also almost there on the upper stage for liquid hydrogen. Now I'll report out once liquid oxygen operations for the upper stage are also underway. Bye. Welcome back. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 7 hours and 9 minutes and counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. Our Artemis launch team is currently in the process of loading liquid propellant onto the SLS or Space Launch System rocket. teams just reported out that we are in our topping phase for the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank. This means we are almost at a 100% if not pretty much there on that upper stage tank. The upper stage is the second stage of the SLS rocket. Here's a graphic representation where we can see where we're currently at in our tanking operations. That means we have now finished loading our liquid hydrogen on both the core stage and the upper stage. As I said, we're in that topping phase to get us to 100%. And afterwards, we'll then transition into replenish mode to stay at 100% level. You can see on the core stage, we are already at the replenish mode. If you see that 100% level right there and we also just got confirmation that we are also in replenish for the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank. Now on the liquid oxygen side we still have a little bit to go. We're almost we're almost there on the liquid oxygen tank for the core stage. You see roughly 92% of the way filled and we haven't started our liquid oxygen um propellant loading operations on the upper stage. Teams are getting ready to start chilling down that tank. Teams do this to make sure that all of the systems and lines are ready to receive these cryogenic temperatures. As you can see on your screen there, for hydrogen to stay in a liquid state, it must be -423 degrees F. Oxygen, meanwhile, is -297° F. So, these super super cold temperatures, we want to make sure that the rocket is able to receive them without damaging any of the hardware on board. So, we'll start with chilling down that uh liquid oxygen tank and lines before we actually start loading it onto the upper stage. I'll report back once that step is underway. As a reminder, our launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time this evening. Teams do have a 2hour launch window. So that means if we don't launch right at 6:24, that is okay. They still have additional opportunities throughout that 2hour launch window. Now, NASA's providing 247 live coverage throughout this entire mission, beginning with our propellant loading operations that is currently underway. And as we continue our coverage this morning, we are also um and we continue monitoring all of our loading operations. We thank you for following us along. Part of our live coverage will of course include our launch this evening. That live launch coverage for Artemis 2 will continue right here at the beginning at approximately 1250 p.m. Eastern time. You can continue watching on our NASA's YouTube channel as well as on NASA plus and the other NASA social media channels. Again, we are providing 247 live coverage. So, following launch, the show doesn't end there. We have a 10-day mission around the moon. And then following that, we're coming back home and we will be covering all of those splashdown operations as well. Artemis 2 is a test flight. It is NASA's first crude Artemis mission. We will be sending NASA astronauts Reed Wisman who serves as the commander, Victor Glover, the pilot, and mission specialist Christina Cook. And then we're also sending Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who serves as the other mission specialist for this mission. So to quickly recap, we are in replenish for both liquid hydrogen tanks on the core stage and the upper stage of our SLS or space launch system rocket. And we are getting very close to being almost all the way full on the liquid oxygen tank in the core stage. I'll make sure to report out once we start entering topping for the liquid oxygen tank in the core stage. Again, that refers to the uh the last little bit that is needed to get us to 100%. And I'll also make sure to let folks know when our chillown operations are in work on the upper stage liquid oxygen tank. As a reminder, all of this propellant that are on board these four tanks of these two um two rocket stages, they feed the engines that are underneath and then provide the power and the push to send the Orion spacecraft on its voyage to the moon. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 6 hours and 49 minutes in counting from the opening of today's launch window for NASA's Artemis 2 mission. That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time this evening. And we do have a 2hour launch window, which means that if we don't launch right at the start at 6:24 p.m. That is okay. Teams still have an additional two hours in which they can try to launch the SLS or space launch system rocket and the Orion spacecraft. Now, the Aremis launch team is currently in the process of loading cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant onto the SLS rocket. We are currently in what is called replenish mode for our liquid hydrogen tanks on board the SLS core stage and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. These are the two stages on the SLS rocket. Now replenish mode means that we have finished loading hydrogen on board both of these rock on board both of these rockets. That means they are at 100% level and teams are just constantly replenishing the tanks to make sure that they stay at 100%. Since as throughout the countdown that liquid propellant will start boiling off as it starts warming up and it will then be vented out and released from the rocket which you can see there on your screen. Now on the liquid oxygen side, teams are now in topping phase for the core stage liquid oxygen tank. Topping is the in between state of fast fill and replenish mode. Fast fill is where we spend the most of the time loading propellants. We load it at a much faster rate. Then once we reach a certain point, we will transition into topping to finish loading the tank to 100%. That is now where we are currently at in the core stage liquid oxygen tank. And following topping, we then transition into replenish. So we're in core stage liquid oxygen topping. We're in topping for the core stage liquid oxygen tank. And we are in replenish mode for both tanks on the liquid hydrogen for liquid hydrogen on the core stage and the upper stage. Now meanwhile on the liquid oxygen tank on the upper stage teams just reported that they have now started chill down for that upper stage tank. This is the first step that is needed before we actually start flowing and loading that propellant on board. The reason this is done is to chill down the systems in line so they are ready to receive those super cold temperatures and not cause any potential damage to the hardware. For reference, oxygen needs to be -297° F to be in a liquid state and hydrogen -423° F. So very very cold temperatures that the rocket is dealing with right now. Now again we are underway for the Aremis 2 mission. This is the second Artemis mission in NASA's Artemis program. Artemis one was an uncrrewed test flight. Artemis 2 will be the first crude test flight. This will be the first time we send astronauts on board our Orion spacecraft. We'll be sending our commander Reed Wisman, our pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission around the moon. Now, from the rocket side, there aren't that many changes from Artemis one to Aremis 2. Most of the major sections of SLS really remain unchanged. Some of the differences are more in the in the details to really just provide our astronauts with a better ride in space. Some of those include some optical targets that are now on the upper stage um as visual cues during the uh proximity operation demonstration. This will be a test for the astronauts to practice maneuvering Orion and practice approaching the upper stage while it's in a high Earth orbit. Another improvement for SLS was an improved navigation system. Also, communications capability between the ground stations and the US Space Force Space Launch Delta 45, which controls the eastern range. that is responsible for kind of helping dictate when we are allowed to launch here off the space coast in Florida. Now, all of the uh four tanks on the upper stage and the core stage, they feed the engines that are down below. At liftoff, the four RS25 engines will operate for the first eight minutes during flight. The two solid rocket boosters that are on either side, those operate for only 2 minutes and they provide 75% of the power at liftoff. So to quickly recap, we are in replenish for our both liquid hydrogen tanks. We entered topping for the liquid oxygen tank on the core stage. That means very very soon we'll be in replenish mode for that tank as well. And we are in our chill down operations for the liquid oxygen tank on the upper stage. Pretty soon we will be entering Fastville. I'll report out when that is underway. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 6 hours and 38 minutes in counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time this evening and teams do have a 2hour launch window in which they can attempt to launch the SLS or the space launch system rocket and Orion spacecraft. The Artemis launch team is currently loading cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant onto SLS. We are currently in replenish mode for both liquid hydrogen tanks on the two stages of our SLS rocket. We're still in our topping phase on the core stage liquid oxygen tank. That means we're just finishing it up. You can see there it looks almost all the way full. And following that, it will enter into what is also um into its replenish mode as well. The liquid oxygen tank on the upper stage, meanwhile, is now in fastfill. So that means all four tanks are now receiving propellants. Following fast fill on the liquid oxygen tank for the upper stage, teams will perform that venton relief test that they also did for the liquid hydrogen side on the upper stage. This test is again just to test the uh the relief capabilities to make sure that the upper stage can handle the uh the pressure uh that will be introduced at liftoff and during launch. Following that, it will then enter topping and will then go to replenish mode as well. Once we are in replenish mode for all tanks, that will be the signal to the launch team to tell our astronauts that they are ready to start heading out to the launchpad and get on board their Orion spacecraft. Now, Artemis 2 is a test flight and it is NASA's first Artemis crude mission. That means this will be the first time that our astronauts, our commander Reed Weisman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen, they will be the first to experience launch and flight a SLS. The rocket hits a maximum speed of 22,670 mph. And our astronauts will get to experience the entire ride. So to quickly recap, we are in replenish mode for both liquid hydrogen tanks. We are in topping, meaning we are finishing up top uh loading liquid oxygen on the core stage. That is the first stage of the rocket. And we are in fast fill for the liquid oxygen tank on our second stage or that interim cryogenic propulsion stage. I'll report out once we have also entered replenish mode for the core stage liquid oxygen tank. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 6 hours and 22 minutes in counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. The launch team is currently in the process of loading cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant onto the SLS or the space launch system rocket. We're currently in replenish mode for both liquid hydrogen tanks on both the first stage and the second stage of the rocket. And then on the liquid oxygen side, we are in fast fill for the liquid oxygen tank on the upper stage. And then we are getting ready to get into our replenish mode for the liquid oxygen tank on the core stage. We are still in that topping phase. Finishing loading the propellant tank to 100% at which point then teams will transition into replenish mode as well which just means that we are going to constantly be re replenishing these tanks at 100% level. Now, today's launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Teams do have a 2-hour launch window, which means if we don't launch right on time, they do have an additional two hours in which they can attempt to launch. For those of you just joining us, NASA will be providing 247 live coverage of this entire mission, starting with our propellant loading operations that are currently underway. Thank you so much for everyone that's been following along. Our live launch coverage of Artemis 2 will continue right here beginning at approximately 12:50 p.m. where the rest of my NASA commentators will be chiming in on how the rest of today's countdown goes and we'll take you through the rest of the mission. Now, Artemis 2 is a test flight. It will be the first mission that sends astronauts on board SLS and Orion. You can see a photo on your screen there of our Artemis 2 crew. We have our commander Reed Wisman on the right hand side. Then we have our two mission specialists in the middle, Christina Cook and then Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. All the way on the left is our pilot, Victor Glover. All four of them woke up not too long ago at around 9:25 a.m. this morning. Not a terrible wakeup call. In that time, they've been getting ready, having breakfast, getting some briefings, and they'll get one more briefing. It's the flight crew weather brief, where they'll get a status on where we are in the countdown, what the current forecast looks like. Following that brief, they will then start their suitup operations before they go out to the launchpad and board their spacecraft. and teams did report that we have now entered replenish mode for the core stage liquid oxygen tank. So we are now in replenish for both liquid hydrogen tanks on the core stage and the upper stage. And we are also in replenish mode for the core stage liquid oxygen tank. on the upper stage liquid oxygen tank. Meanwhile, we are still in fastfill and I'll report out once then we transition from fastfill onto the next step which will again be that venton relief test. This is pressurizing the upper stage tanks with heliums to test the relief capabilities that the tank pressure to make sure that it can handle that capability during flight. Following that test, teams will then start topping on the liquid oxygen tank and will then after topping will then transition into replenish mode as well. I'll report out when that's underway. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 6 hours and 8 minutes in counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. Now, the launch window opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time this evening, and teams do have a 2hour launch window, which means that they have two hours in which they can try to launch the SLS or the space launch system rocket and Orion spacecraft that will send NASA astronauts Reed Wisman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission around the moon and back. Now, the launch team is currently in the process of loading cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant onto the SLS rocket. The propellants that are used to power SLS are liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. We are currently in our replenish phase for both liquid hydrogen tanks on the two phases of the rock on the two stages of the rocket. That is both the core stage and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. Replenish mode just basically means that now these tanks are at 100% level and teams are going to constantly be replenishing them as they as they start to warm up and boil off. You can see some of that gas that's being vented off the rocket there. That's normal. Teams totally expect to see that. And because of that, we have then a replenish valve to constantly be replenishing the tank with that liquid propellant. So, we make sure that we are 100% level and we're not losing any propellants in the tank. The reason that you see some of that venting happening is because as we get throughout the countdown and the temperatures start to rise, that liquid propellant will become a gas and so it'll start boiling off and then it'll vent outside the rocket. Hence the need for a replenish valve. So we're we are in replenish for both liquid hydrogen tanks. We are also in replenish for the core stage liquid oxygen tank and we are in fastfill for the upper stage or that interim cryogenic propulsion stage liquid oxygen tank. Now fast fill is the main portion of our propellant loading operations where teams are actively loading that propellant at a much faster rate. Now following fast build teams transition into what is called topping. As the name suggests it just means to top off the tanks and then following topping we enter what is replenish. So once we are at replenish for the liquid oxygen tank on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage we're going to enter what is called all stages in replenish. This means that all four tanks on the SLS rocket are fully fueled and our astronauts are ready then to go and head out to the launch pad when they get the go from our launch director Charlie Blackwell Thompson. Now, coming up shortly, the um our astronauts will be uh joining in on a flight crew weather brief with our launch director as well as with the flight director in Houston and the uh the launch weather officer. They'll provide a quick status on how the forecast looks for the rest of today's countdown as well as where we currently are in our countdown operations. A little earlier, the launch weather officer did let our launch director know that we might get some showers in about two hours. However, there is no lightning threat and they will plan on discussing this again during the flight crew weather brief. Currently, teams are forecasting 80% go for weather conditions during that 2-hour launch window. So again, to quickly recap, we are in replenish mode for both liquid hydrogen tanks. We are also in replenish mode on the liquid oxygen tank on the core stage. That is the first stage of the SLS rocket. And we're in fast fill for the liquid oxygen tank on the upper stage. I'll report out when we have transitions from fastfill and on to topping. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 5 hours and 42 minutes and counting from the opening of today's launch window for the Aremis 2 mission. That launch window officially opens at 6:24 PM Eastern time and teams do have a twohour launch window which means that they have additional opportunities if they don't meet the beginning of that window. Now joining me is Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell Thompson. Charlie, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. >> Oh, you're more than welcome. It's great to be here, Tony. >> It sure is. Now, we know that um you just conducted a flight crew weather brief with our astronauts as well as teams and um mission control and our launch weather officer. Do you mind providing us kind of how that went and um and what we can expect? >> Yes. Um the weather brief went really well. Um what we do during that weather brief is we give the flight crew a summary of where we are in our tanking uh what's left. And of course, we have our core stage and our upper stage fully loaded with LH2 and we're in replenish. And we are just finishing up our uh LO2 or liquid oxygen load into the upper stage. We provided that status uh along with any uh non-conformances that the crew might be interested in. And uh and then we went through the weather and so our weather from our launch weather officer uh remains at a uh 80% uh likelihood of go today and a 20% chance of violation. Uh we are watching some preip that is making its way toward the pad, but uh we expect that that is going to dissipate as we get closer to the opening of our window. So, uh, really good, uh, to hear the crews voices and to talk through a day of launch ops. You know, it's something that we simulate, but there's nothing like the real day. >> Absolutely. I can only imagine and it's great news to hear that we are still 80% go. Those are very, very favorable conditions. Let's hope it stays that way. Um, you mentioned we're getting closer to reaching what is called all stages in uh, stable replenish. Uh, that means that we will have all four tanks at 100% flight level. Charlie, can you walk us through then what are some of those upcoming milestones once we reach all stages replenish? >> Absolutely. So, one of the big milestones when you reach stable replenish on all the uh all stages is uh you begin to send the closeout crew into the pad. And so, we're just a few minutes away from uh getting into that and the we'll uh deploy them to the pad and they'll start getting ready for the flight crew. And then of course shortly after that is the exciting milestone of seeing the crew walk out of the operations and checkout building and make their way to the pad. And that's certainly something that uh we've been waiting a very long time to see. It's going to be very exciting I think for certainly for our team. It'll be exciting for our country and it'll be exciting for people all over the world who are watching uh our crew head to the pad knowing that we are just about five hours or so from from launch. it. You couldn't have said it any better. This is very exciting for the entire world. We cannot wait for that moment when we see the our astronauts depart their crew quarters and head to the pad. Charlie, thank you so much for taking the chance to uh to speak with us today. We are rooting for you. We're wishing you the best of luck in today's countdown and we'll let you get back on console. >> All right. Thank you, Tony. Appreciate the opportunity to chat with you and uh go Artemis. >> Go Artemis. All right. So to quickly recap, we are in replenish mode for both liquid hydrogen tanks and we are getting ready to also hit replenish mode on the liquid oxygen tanks for both of those. We will we will report out when that is underway. This is Artemis launch control. We are currently 5 hours and 37 minutes in counting from the opening of today's launch window for NASA's Aremis 2 mission. Now, the launch team is currently in the process of loading cryogenic or liquid propellant onto the SLS rocket. You see our launch team there in firing room 1. And you actually can see our NASA administrator, Jared Isacman. He just joined the room to greet our launch director, Charlie Blackwell Thompson, and our assistant launch director, Jeremy Graver. Now to quickly recap, we started our propellant loading operations at 8:35 a.m. Eastern time. That was after we had uh chilled down the uh the core stage systems lines and after we had got been given the go from our launch director to start our tanking operations. So after 8:35 we started again slowfill a little bit. Um, after that at 9:25, our astronauts got their scheduled wakeup call. Following slow fill on the core stage, we then transitioned into fast fill. Once we were in fast fill for the core stage, we then started our upper stage loading operations. We started first with hydrogen, started chilling down the liquid hydrogen tank on the upper stage at roughly 9:36 a.m. And then we got into Fastville at 9:51 a.m. Following that, we entered then our topping phase on the core stage liquid hydrogen tank. Topping refers to finishing off that last little bit to get to 100%. And then we transitioned into replenish. We did the same thing for the core stage liquid oxygen tank as well as for the liquid hydrogen tank on the upper stage. Now all that's left is to enter replenish mode for the liquid oxygen tank on our upper stage. And we will enter what is called all stages replenish. This means that now all four tanks will be at 100% level. Once we reach this stage, this will be the signal for our launch team to let our astronauts know that they have the clear to enter the launchpad and go and enter their spacecraft. As a reminder, NASA's providing 247 live coverage of this mission. We started to this morning at 7:45 a.m. and ran you through our tanking loading operations and we will continue to do so throughout the rest of today's launch countdown. We will be beginning our live coverage in just a few minutes for that launch and the rest of our commentators will make sure to take you along through today's countdown. You can see on your screen there how to watch. And as our launch director just recently said when she came on air, let's go Artemis 2. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hallelujah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. 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. The Artemis 2 mission is a test mission of the Orion space capsule. Artemis 2 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 core to who we are. That's a part of being a human. >> And lift up. >> We shall return. Continuing to test out every bit of Orion, >> coming back to Earth 7 miles a second. >> When humanity sets big goals, we can bring together genius from around the world. You have the best people on planet Earth putting this vehicle together. >> That's what's up. >> To innovate for the benefit of humanity and to inspire the world through discovery. >> And here we go. Welcome and thank you for joining us live from NASA's Kennedy Space Center where 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 Ays. 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 launchpad 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 flight. So, 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 the moon to learn so much about Earth and about the uh 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 suitup room with the Aremis 2 crew. >> Yes. Looks like the commander's getting his com cap on. So the 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 liftoff today is launch director Charlie Blackwell Thompson. Uh she and her team are just across the street from us inside of the launch control center. They kicked off continuous aroundthe-clock operations just before 5:00 p.m. on Monday and started fueling the rocket about 4 hours ago. They have a 2-hour launch window that opens at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time, which our clock in the upper leftand corner is counting down to. And you know, we just heard uh uh from Charlie Blackwell Thompson in our tanking coverage, which was the broadcast just before this one kicked off. And basically, she said weather is 80% go. >> Yes. You know, 80% we will take that. It's a little windy. The there's some clouds building, but uh we're going to keep an eye on it. And 80%'s 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 at 6:24 p.m. today. >> Hopefully. >> All right. So again, let's head back into that suitup room. We he we see uh Reed Wisman. He is the commander of the Artemis 2 crew. And Nicole, he is putting on what you guys are calling the communications cap, the comm cap. >> Yes. So it's a little bit for protection uh of his, you know, of his head there, but also you can see the mic booms and he's got ear cups there so he can hear uh you know, the rocket's loud. So you're going to wear hearing protection, but then we also want to be able to talk to uh Earth and talk to each other. Uh, so they're getting that settled and then he will put the helmet on over that com cap. That com cap will also connect into the suit which then eventually connects into the capsule um 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 re-entry or during high risk or emergency situations. And I think a lot of people, especially if they're uh have been following NASA for all these decades now, they're kind of thinking, hey, these these look like the suits that uh our shuttle astronauts used to wear. There is a lot of resemblance here. >> That's true. Yeah, they are very similar. Um you know, NASA does a great job of uh 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 spaceflight 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 Aremis 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 going to 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 Daryl Nail inside the launch control center with the launch team. Now each is going to uh provide a very unique experience today. Starting first with Daryl who has been closely monitoring the launch countdown for us. >> Yeah, and welcome into firing room 1, a historic firing room here at 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 liftoff 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 uh all stages replenish and uh while we're talking about the fueling, let's uh let's talk about that uh tanking. Pull up the tanking graphic if we could. Now, um, 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 uh, on board 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 cryolo. 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 Olympicsiz pool and a half. Huge amount of propellant. It's all flowed 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 uh while it is favorable overall, it's not totally clean and that was hinted at earlier when we talked about the storms. There is uh of course some onshore flow currently. Our overall attempt percentage stands at 80% chance of acceptable weather conditions at the time of liftoff liftoff which is going to be within our launch window. That's tonight from 6:24 p.m. Eastern time until 8:24 p.m. Eastern time. Winds are good. The lightning risk is low. Um but scattered showers still remain possible around the Cape and oluding uh near the pad. So the expectation is that there'll be some more active weather coming our way. Um 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. Well, you're looking now inside the inside the astronaut suitup uh room and of course, we got the four astronauts there. They talked to Charlie Blackwell Thompson today and uh you know, everything looked good there. We're tracking one minor uh NC issue at this point. We'll talk it's a non-conformance. We'll talk about that a little bit later in our next hit. Uh but for now, again, looking good. And of course, uh our administrator for NASA is here in the firing room. He checked in with the launch director, uh chatted with her for several minutes, and uh he's uh 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. >> Darl, thank you so much. Yeah, let's get back into the suitup 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 u you know as the suit expands that we're going to pressurize those suits. So, in the case that we need it uh if we lose pressure in the capsule, they'll those suits will protect the astronauts and keep them pressurized and keep them survivable. So, uh these these guys are going to hold their breath for about 10 seconds. you know, any movement in the suit could cause uh changes in the pressure. And so, we want to get a really nice precise uh 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. Um, 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 tube 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 do another leak check. So, we're going to 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 to the rocket. >> And you might also notice that some of the um astronauts while they're doing their suit leak checks, you might have seen Victor uh gave an okay sign. Um you might also see a thumbs up and that's because it concurrently while they're doing these suit leak checks, they're also doing com checks. >> Yes. Yeah. The we talked about the com cap earlier and the umbilical and how they plug in. So yeah, they're going to test the com. 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. Uh so we, like I said, we want to make sure we've got four healthy suits before we go out. >> Yeah. This uh 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 um to keep the astronauts cool and comfortable uh before liftoff today. >> Yeah, it's like a onesie with a bunch of tubes running around it uh 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 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 in those opportunities as well. Okay, as we continue to be inside the suitup 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 Weisman. Now Reed Weisman 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 165day mission, Reed and his crew mates 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 uh 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, you know, I love uh Reed is such a great leader. He was the chief of the astronaut office when they hired our class of astronauts. Um and so, you know, I think I have to publicly thank him for uh for my job here today. But, um 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 uh you know, in talking through um some of his other accomplishments, obviously he has leadership qualities that makes him prepared for uh commander of Artemis 2. >> Yes. Yes, he does. He's a 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 US 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 Diana have four children. >> Yeah, four children. A lot of energy, but that checks, right? Because uh when I think of Victor Glover, I think of a lot of energy, smart guy who's always excited and ready to go. And there you go. He's smiling uh in the suitroom 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, you know, I have never heard anybody say anything um bad about any of these four. They're all so well accomplished and they're all so deserving of this opportunity to return to the moon. >> Yeah. And they're all so 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. >> Yep. They've already got her gloves off. They're getting ready to to kind of hang out and relax 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 spacew walk. And before becoming an astronaut, Christina helped build space science instruments and led scientific fieldwork 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. You know, one of the things I love about Christina is that she's 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. Um, she does it for her family and she'll talk about all of her nieces and nephews quite a bit. So, uh, just again a another example of just a humble human who's, uh, 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 their 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, firsttime flyer, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will fly to the moon as a mission specialist on the Aremis 2 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 Katherine 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. Yeah. They uh as long as our family can quarantine with them, uh then they will stay, you know, quarantined in Houston and then they all fly down uh to Kennedy Space Center and then you get to spend the last few days with your your close family and and friends. We actually do a behind the glass visit with some of those other uh maybe extended family members that couldn't quarantine with you. But um yeah, it's a 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 leak checks. And so Nicole, what they're doing now is they have these pockets on their forearms that um um that's just somewhere where they can put personal items that they might want, right? >> Yeah, just kind of stowage pockets. You know, there's always something that you might need or want while you're uh in the capsule. And then also last minute personal items if you want to put a couple things in there. Um, so everybody kind of has their own unique stash in their pockets. >> And then another pocket uh has uh emergency equipment that they might need, right? Like a signaling mirror, things like that, >> right? Yeah. The suit is basically allin-one. You know, it's got the oxygen bottles there on their right legs. You'll see in a different shot. Uh they've got pockets with survival gear in it. Um and that is to keep them safe. So, if they had to egress the capsule um either from the launchpad or from uh the water, then they will have all of their survival gear with them. They'll have about 10 minutes of oxygen uh as well from that bottle so that they can get to safety quickly uh and safely. >> We are now 5 hours 3 minutes in counting from the open of our opening of our twohour 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 um it's important to highlight the mission of Artemis 2. Yeah, we are going to go around the moon. We're going to see the far side of the moon. Uh we're going to see parts of the far side of the moon that human eyes have never seen before. Uh it's very similar to the Apollo 8 mission, right? We're also potentially going to be able to see the landing sites for um the future Aremis missions and kind of provide the overall context of those landing sites uh amongst the the entire moon site there. So um it's an exciting mission. We'll get to uh learn a ton about uh you know there's so much science that's going to be on this mission as well, right? Where they'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 uh 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 uh they're going to do a couple orbits around the Earth. Uh they'll do a parige and an apogee raise. And what that means is that they're going to accelerate to get further away from the Earth and they'll get into a really highly elliptical orbit first. Uh and then once they get into the uh trans lunar injection, so they're actually on a free return trajectory, which means we're going to accelerate them and then they're going to 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. Uh 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 10day 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. Uh and we're happy to answer any of your questions. Again, tag 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 like that. >> I I absolutely know what I would say. I think it would make my husband upset, but I have I have my answer here. Uh, but we'd love for you to go to NASA's Instagram or Twitch accounts to vote again. Who would you take with the moon with 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 Aremis 2 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 sixerson tent. >> Yeah, not super big, but you know, it's 10 days with your three best friends, so I think uh it's manageable for sure. But, you know, every every ounce counts when you're trying to get to the moon. >> And as we continue to look into the suitup room here, a fist pump for uh 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 already getting ready to check out the team here as they drive across KSC to their launchpad. >> 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 queue. >> 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 uh NASA social uh experience here. So, as you can see, very excited. The crew will get into their convoy and drive past them here pretty shortly. >> Yeah, what an amazing way to share the Artemis story, right? By inviting these social media experts out to to share the story as they drive by. >> All right, again, let's take a look at the clock. 4 hours 58 minutes and counting from the opening of today's 2-hour launch window. So, why don't we check back in with Daryl with the launch team, >> Megan and Nicole. And inside fire room 1, I'm listening to launch director uh 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. Uh, really smooth tanking that kicked off at 7:30 a.m. this morning. They got to all stages replenish just before 1:00 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. Uh, weather of course we've talked a little bit about that. It's uh favorable overall 80% go for our 2-hour window between 6:24 p.m. and 8:24 p.m. We don't have an exact T0 right now uh because that's going to come to us closer when we get uh 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 uh the good data now now that I'm on the headset and listening into the loops. Uh engineers, avionics engineers are keeping an eye on a display unit uh inside Orion that's just running a little cooler than normal. It's not going out of limit. It's actually completely fine. Um, but they just were noting the trend and reported that to the NASA test director. Um, so they'll keep their eyes on that. Uh, but again, there was no LCC violation. Uh, and once they get the cover uh off Orion out there that's protecting it from the rain, they expect the temperatures inside the uh, Orion crew capsule to stabilize. And with that, we'll send it back to the host desk with Megan and Nicole. >> Thank you so much, Darl. Now Daryl is inside firing room 1 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 landed 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 2 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 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. 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, but technologies that 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 2 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 we work together to achieve them. >> Now, Kennedy's launch control team takes us to liftoff, 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 Aremis 2 assent flight control teams led by flight director Jud 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 Aremis 2 crew on board 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 shift supporting SCS70 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 SA spacecraft is safe 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 liftoff is just the beginning. The mission is, of course, a test mission, and the first with humans on board Orion and in deep space. The crew's job is to put the systems and capabilities of Orion 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, we'll 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 tradition that we have seen with our crude flights and our astronauts. The card game, Nicole. >> 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. Uh looks like they're playing high card wins. Um so Victor won, he's out now. Jeremy's out. Um 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. So it looks like the crew chose were going out on a high note. Um, and you know, I think one of my favorite parts when I talked to Reed about this is he was just excited to play a game with his old boss from Naval Test Pilot School. So, uh, once again, his boss today. >> Yeah. And I love this part of the tradition because this is when again you you usually see them like Yeah. laughing but very focused still. But when they get to this table, laughs, high fives, smiles. Um, just really uh um a brief moment of levity in what can be and will be a very long day for them. >> Yes. you know, it's it's a long day. Uh 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 laughs, you know, a moment to take a few deep breaths um and reflect on the mission ahead. Uh and then, you know, get some high fives as well. >> And so with their bad luck dispelled, some good luck from Scott Tingle, let it seem like there, right? >> Yes, definitely. They It's actually a a really fun tradition. You know, I think uh that card game is more steeped in tradition than anything else. Uh every crew has played 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 techs 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. Um, 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 lift off from Kennedy Space Center. >> Right. And, you know, each suit is slightly different. Each person is 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, you know, 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 suits. Take a look. >> Does 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 were very excited cuz they want to be astronauts when they grow up. I would love to be an astronaut. That would be incredible. >> Like to be like an engineer that like maybe designs the suits. >> Whether it's the call, the orange color, every aspect has an important function for our astronauts in space. It's going to be amazing seeing astronauts close 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 and be curious. >> Oh man. Yeah. The the kids are so important, right? I love talking to kids. Uh 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 an astronaut someday that's that's a win. >> And now let's turn our focus to the rocket for a little bit. Powering liftoff 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 space flight. >> 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 moon board. 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 Orion 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 going to point out just a handful um that you're going to hear about 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 win 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 um 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 RS25 engines. These are going to produce about half a million pounds of thrust each at launch and they will burn for 8 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 an Olympic size pool just to give you an idea. And then we're also going to have that liquid oxygen. And like I mentioned, uh there's going to be about 200,000 gallons for that one. And they are going to 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 temp uh those uh 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 uh 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 uh on our Moonboard, but for now, I'm going to turn it back over to you, Megan. >> Thank you, Megan. a very impressive demo of the Moonboard, but also an impressive system. Obviously, she mentioned four RS25 engines on the core stage. And actually, we have one right behind us here, uh, used during the shuttle program, and I got to get a closer look at it with Space Launch Systems Engines Deputy Manager Philip Benfield. >> Okay, so Philip, in terms of size, shape, and function, what we see here behind us, exactly what we see on the pad. >> Absolutely, Megan. Absolutely. So, this is the RS25 engine. >> Impressive. >> We have four of these on the bottom of the SLS rocket to propel the SLS rocket in Orion into low Earth 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 the power head section of the engine. So, the the purpose here is that it takes in the propellants from the vehicle tanks. The liquid oxygen - 297° 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 9,000 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 thrust. >> When you say hot gas, what are we talking about? >> We're talking 6,000° F gas. >> Wow. So, we're talking really cold as liquids coming in to the combustion chamber and then it comes out as really really hot gas. How do you design, how do you engineer something to control both extremes? >> Absolutely. It's a very technical technically challenging. One of the main things here with the nozzle is that since you have the 6,000 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,80 uh coolant tubes. And so each of these coolant 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, retoled it >> to be able to now support Artemis. What do you think about that? >> Yeah, I think that's really amazing. and the fact that we were able to use the heritage hardware on the space launch system, the the engine itself uh 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 function. >> 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. Uh, like we said, we we learn all those lessons from previous missions and we get to involve them here today. >> And here we are, the closeout crew in the wait room getting ready for the astronauts who have just left crew suitup and are now walking down a hallway to greet some family and friends downstairs. Commander Reed Weissman, 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, nope. A couple more people in that elevator. Those are important folks. They're going with them to the pad. >> This is a fun elevator ride. >> 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 days. >> They did. It's actually the if 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. >> Awesome. >> Great crowd here. A shot now of everyone who is waiting to greet the crew as they walk out of the operations and checkout building here at Kennedy Space Center and we'll board their ride to the launchpad. >> 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 were in quarantine with them up close. They get to 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 uh a lot of the program managers off to the side as well to to wave goodbye one last time and wish them luck. >> Yeah, it's a really nice moment. Again, uh they uh have had some quality time with family, but this is their final opportunity to say see you in 10 days. Yep. The last wave. >> And so there are uh different pens of people again as Nicole was alluding to specific to uh 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 astro van. And that is going to be the crew's ride out to the launchpad. This modified Airstream motor home 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. So, I think Top Gun is on the menu and then also Point Break because, you know, Christina surfs. Um, so I think they've got a a pretty decent uh entertainment uh planned. So, >> I love that. It gets them in in the head space, the right headsp space 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, Airirststream created the first generation Astroan, a 27 foot motor home that transported astronauts AC across KSC to their launchpad. And again, that is what we're going to see today. A very um similar picture again, the orange suits, the astro van, very reminiscent of uh what uh we have done before and how we got to where we are now. >> Yeah. And it's a it's a pretty cool red. you know, you get about 20 minutes to get out to the launchpad and watch a movie, listen to some music. Uh, 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 this can be emotional for the crew, it can be emotional for the families, of course. I mean, you know, I got to wave goodbye one last time to my sister and when we walked out those doors and yeah, it's 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 from when we expect the crew to walk out those doors. It must be really hard for them to patiently wait for these for these very specific milestones. >> Uh you've got a you've got a whole group back there that's uh telling jokes and keep keeping it light. So, >> and here they are NASA's Artemis 2 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 and really smiles. I love that. It's a great day for us. It's a great day for this team. >> A few words from Reed. 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. >> I love I love the energy of this crowd. Let's go. And so now the crew walking over to each of their pens. Um the first uh uh people closest to them, of course, their family members who got to quarantine with them. Correct. >> Yes. Yeah. So the the ones that are close and waving, those are the immediate families. So spouses, partners, kids, >> and we're trying to give them some privacy so that they can have their conversations with their family members. Uh Christina there. Uh she has her husband. Uh Victor has four daughters and 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, Nicole, when you flew for Crew 10, what were you kind of talking about? Like, did you really think about this moment and what you might want to say? >> Uh, you know, that they've all already done their real goodbyes, you know, in person. Um, and so this is more just kind of again that that last chance to wave, last chance to get one smile. You know, you see Christina there smiling. So, uh, this felt much less heavy and just, you know, waving and maybe cracking a joke or something, saying hi. So, uh, 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 2 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 uh with cupcakes baked by uh by one of the daughters, moon cupcakes. >> Yes, I love this story. Moon cupcakes the next morning. Like, h 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 that it was too foggy but she said uh he was still very excited and happy for her. >> Yeah, the moon's still out there. >> A closeup now of again Commander Reed Weisman and mission specialist Christina Cook. To the right of your 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." >> Yes. I love that. Again, the support from the family is awesome. >> And Jeremy said uh 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 too from uh 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 Norm Knight's out there, the FOD plant operations director. Director. You heard Reed there saying, "Thank you guys." as the crowd picks up again with their applause and the four of them step into their their Astroban. Looking at the clock, very on schedule right now. Again, according to the very detailed timeline of launch today, they are 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 you." Yeah. >> 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 a full security escorted 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 uh seat restraints and getting all of the umbilicals 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 our administrator, Jared Isacman, 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 walk out. 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 uh the orange boxes, we didn't talk about it when we were in the suitup room, but if anybody noticed, there are these orange boxes, and that's what provides the cooling um to those thermal garments. And so those boxes have been staged inside of the Astroan 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 walk out, you know, said hello to their families and the 80°ree weather here in Florida today. So, uh, it can get really warm in the suit quickly if you're not careful. So, you 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 connecting 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 uh folks in the white suits that we saw again uh suit technicians. >> Yep. >> And there they go. >> And off they go. Reed, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy now on their way to launchpad 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. First, Commander Reed Weisman. >> The moon to me, it's the thing that connects me together with all the other humans in my life. I remember being a a little kid lying in bed at night and just looking out at 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 and I was 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 Wisman. I'm the commander of NASA's Aremis 2 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 career. Flying is freedom to me, especially when you're in a in a jet aircraft coming off of an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Nearest land is over 1500 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 an aircraft over the Pacific. Just just free. I think anybody who accomplishes something that they set their mind out to, there's 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 the 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 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 mi up, I never had that feeling of falling or that I was, you know, at risk up there. I I just kind of love 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 uh who are 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 as hard as I possibly can. And now, Artemis 2 pilot Victor Glover and his journey to this history making moment. >> 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 on the space station the first time I got to sit in the Koopa 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 Aremis 2 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 want to be. And that just gave me an easy thing to 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 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. 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 3, that's something to really be excited about. Great to hear from Reed and Victor in 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. >> 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 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. Its history, of course, goes back to the Apollo days, but today it is home to the Aremis missions to the moon and beyond. Gosh, still people lining the route. Yep, >> I love that. >> I do too. It leaves me kind of speechless, you know, 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 when 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 Aremis 2 mission around the moon. When I look back on 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 and 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 oftent times between the pine tree branches or I loved 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 involved 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 carried 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 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, um 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 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 specialist and firsttime 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 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 Aremis 2 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 treehouse 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. 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 to figure out how to use your energy towards adding positively to humanity's existence on this planet. But 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. They 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 launchpad, that point of view to see what the crew is seeing as well as their astro 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 um 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 uh 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 Aremis 2 crew get out of the astro van and make their way up the mobile launcher to the 274 foot level where they will embark on their first crude test flight of the Aremis program. You know, I think that button in the elevator actually says space when you really at least on 39 alpha it 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. 4 hours 10 minutes and counting until the top of our two-hour launch window today. Let's head back across the street to Daryl who's following the launch team every step of the way. >> All right, thank you Megan and Nicole. And here inside firing room 1, 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 Aremis 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 uh 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 uh you're watching right now, well certainly you know that there's some rain in the area. Uh there's going to be spotty showers that are going to be coming ashore here and we expect that throughout our rest of our countdown. But uh we also are getting forecast that there'll be some clearing as we get closer to our launch window. Big wave from Reed Wisman there and a thumbs up as the crew goes into the elevator to ascend the launch tower uh to go up to the level where they'll walk across the crew access arm and get into the white room. The um 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 um their various uh consoles as well as getting ready. Uh a nice moment here and I'll just pause to just look and see as the crew uh walks across the zero deck as they call it which is the the deck that's right there even with the engines and they're taking a moment to go over there and uh stand up and uh gaze up at the 322 foot tall SLS rocket. This was part of the plan for the Artemis 2 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 uh 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 uh ahead of the critical pre-launch poles and then the start of terminal count. And that should be right around Lminus 25 minutes, right before the NASA test director gives their poll and the launch director gives her management poll, which happens at Lminus 17 minutes. Right now, a lot of focus is on, of course, the closeout crew. They've made the way for the crew uh to get inside the spacecraft now and walk across that crew access arm. And there they are. They have uh 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. >> God speed. >> 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 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 uh our team wishing on wishing our astronauts good luck. That shot there that we were just looking at uh was aimed at the elevator doors again to catch the astronauts as they make their way up to the 27 foot4 274 foot level of the mobile launcher. The mobile launcher is the structure you see there. Um, it uh 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. >> Do not like how open that creaxis 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 uh Christina and Victor. We definitely saw >> some thumbs up there >> looking out. Yep. That crew access arm. And then Reed, he knows where that camera is taking the opportunity to again just tell folks, hey, we're doing good. ready for it. Yeah. >> And it looks like they're actually probably signing their patch. >> Yeah, there's a a wall with patches there. And so each crew signs uh 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 >> uh the white room over at >> 39A, but again, this is 39B. >> Yep. >> Yep. >> And so now in this room here, the white room, again, we will see the crew dawn 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 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, um, we get such good training. You know, this crew's been training for years. Um, 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. Um, and you know, we've heard the crew talk about the difficult conversations that they've had with their family to prepare for this historic test flight. Um, 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 I think that can be that can be probably one of the most difficult parts about today. >> And while you were answering that question, Nicole, um we did get a chance to check. Yes, this is the first time 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? Um, you know, this is a complicated answer. Uh, 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. Uh, 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 trans lunar injection. So, there's a lot of math uh that goes behind these launch windows and why they why they shift and move and why we just so happen to be in the evening for the April launch windows. >> Yep, you 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 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'd want to come along, too. But I think if asked, he would also say seasoned astronaut. So, >> that's fair. You know, 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 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 will 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 splashdown. 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. >> Yes, it's a mission for all. >> And so, back in the suit, no, not the suitup room, the white room. Um, well, they're suiting up. You can see why I might have slipped that up. Uh so they are uh uh continuing to put on uh gloves. Reed and Jeremy look like they've been checked again. They've put on their gloves, their helmets. Um they've taken off those coverings on their shoes now that they're about to uh get into Orion. And then suit technicians uh 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, then Victor, last Christina. >> Yeah. And that just has to do like you said with this the seat orientation. So on the as the astronauts sit down and lay 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. Uh we saw a few of uh these folks also in the suitup room. Uh suit technicians were in there again to make sure that they get into the suits properly. Um 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 is as you expected? Um and then these folks here will help them get into Orion, buckle up. Um, and so we were talking a little bit about their uh attire, specially made for what they're doing right now. >> Yeah. So, these uh they almost look like, you know, the equivalent of a flight suit, right? They're fire resistant. um you know they've got the straps on the back for emergencies um that mimic the same straps that the astronauts have on their suits so that you can use the same exact equipment in uh an emergency egress from the pad for example. So we can use the same equipment to get everybody safely away from the pad as 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 going to say, you know, they actually look like, you know, the the outfits that car racers wear, right? Yeah. And then when I said that to uh the lead of the closeout crew, he's number one. If we do see him, Taylor Hose, he said, "Well, actually, we are kind of like a pit crew, you know, like they're very quickly moving through the operations. uh so that not uh a lot of time not more time is spent at the pad than is needed because this is a fuely a fully fueled rocket Nicole >> right yeah we want to minimize the time that we have more humans up in the white room uh but also safe safely and efficiently get the astronauts ingress into the capsule and so that's their main job that's uh so yeah I like the pit crew analogy works Okay. 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 mockup of the Orion spacecraft. And I know that because you texted me a photo that you took this selfie in the mockup. And little did you know I was gonna put it in this broadcast. >> Yeah, this was actually a really wonderful opportunity. Last week our flight control team uh at Johnson Space Center hosted an open house of the Orion mockup there in the space vehicle mockup facility. And so I got to spend some time in the capsule uh with some of the flight controllers who are actually sitting on console right now um and talk to them about everything inside the mockup. So you can see I've got a bump cap on. It's like a small hard hat. Uh there are a lot of you know metal corners and things and we are still squishy humans at the end of the day and uh so they want you to be careful while you're moving around in there. But I got to see you know how the crew will ingress. I got to look at the umbilical and the the seat straps and I got to see you know 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 it was a really great time. Uh you know Michael and Bruce were great with me. They they talked they answered all of my questions. Yeah, because it's really good to be able to give that perspective because and and 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 um a true feeling or idea of how big the space is, you know, um how things are configured. Again, like when we see them go in, they're actually on their backs. >> Yep. So again, it's just hard to really get a sense of of the inside there, but Nicole is gonna really help walk us through that. >> Yeah, you 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 uh to get onto their backs and their feet up on those leg rests. Um that actually Andre is holding on to right there. You can see Andre number two is inside getting everything ready for them. Um, and actually those leg rests uh for the pilot and commander seat will come off once they get into orbit uh to create some more space for them. >> And it looks like we're getting ready to ingress here. Yep. Thumbs up from Reed. 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 he will step down right over the flywheel or the exercise equipment that they've got in there. We'll talk to that in a second. And then you actually step down right on top of the toilet area backwards. You can see him going now. Oh, and he's already turned around and walking in. You can see Dre's protecting his helmet and his visor there from all the that metal. >> Yeah. >> Uh it's a tight squeeze, but they've done this a lot. So Reed's already all the way across the capsule. >> Yeah, that was fast. Impressive, Reed. Impressive. 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 Dre. 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 Aremis 2 mission. He trained alongside the primary crew. uh and we'll 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 2 backup crew member just months later in July. Before joining NASA, Andre worked at the John's Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he specialized in spacecraft systems engineering. His work focused on uh the systems that help spacecraft know where they are and how to get where they need to go. So, obviously critical for uh missions to the moon. >> Yeah, he's a wicked smart guy. He's got like 15 degrees, I think, or something. 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 uh 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 launch as they go. Christina there signing the wall. Got to put away the pen. The pen could be foreign object debris or fod, which is bad for NASA. We definitely want to make sure that we keep track of uh everything and we know where everything is because the smallest thing could prevent us from launching or affect uh 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 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 uh that the crew communicate on to the different teams supporting launch today. And as we said when we were in suitup after they do communication checks again suit leak checks to make sure that nothing went wrong between the suitup 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. Uh Jeremy and Christina will actually share uh 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 that device for them so that they can see what the pilot and commander are seeing. >> MSU is online for objects. This is OTC. Repeat. >> MS2 ready for com checks. >> The MS2 ready for com checks. MS2 OTC Orion Earth one com check. >> OTC. It's MS2. Have you loud and clear on one? >> You're welcome, sir. And so that was the Orion test conductor speaking with Jeremy Hansen again, mission specialist 2 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 wait 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 uh four astronauts and four suit techs would be a tight fit in that capsule. Yeah. I mean, take a look at Bill. He's number three there. That the the suit technician there. He is kneeling where Christina will be. >> Exactly. >> In order to get Jeremy situated. >> OTC commanders ready for checks. >> OTC copies. Commander >> NTD 21 check. >> NTD, have you loud and clear here as well? I'll catch you FTS on 194. Thank you, >> commander. OTC on Earth one. >> OTC CDR has you loud and clear. >> Good. Come. Welcome, sir. >> And there you have it. A successful com check with Commander Reed Wisman. And so, >> and CDR NTD on Ry Earth one for com check. 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 collect connecting umbilicals is what we're saying. >> Yeah, they're they're strapping them in. So, they're getting their uh their restraints connected. It's a five-point harness with a quick release. Um, and then they're connecting the umbilical, which has three different uh actually four different connections. So, it's got the air in, air out, uh the water for cooling, and then the comm as well, the communication cable. So, uh they're going to make sure that all of those connections are good to go, make sure the crew is receiving the cooling and the air. >> Uh 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. Uh, 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 uh having some pizza that was brought by the administrator. Uh that was nice of administrator Jared Isaacman to bring that by for the launch team to enjoy. We're linous 3 hours and 44 minutes and counting as you can see the crew ingressing into the spacecraft. Um there are a number of things that uh 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. Um overall, there's a there's a little bit of timeline pressure, right? They there's a 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? Uh 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, uh, five, four or five hours or more on their backs and, um, then they'll, uh, uh, hopefully lift off for a launch. So, of course, the crew is mindful of 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, the amount of time uh, that they're working there. And there's a there's a heart from Christina Cook. Great to see that as she gets ready uh to get into the Orion spacecraft, one that they named integrity. Uh it certainly fits this crew from what uh 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 and the crew themselves, this is a fully tanked, ready, almost ready to go rocket. Um, it's got all the propellant it needs to go to the moon. Uh, 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, they there is propellant boiloff that's happening. All tanks are at 100%. Uh but uh the propellant which is liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen those two uh 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 and they've been in the tank. Uh and that is vented out as you can see. uh when we look to a wider shot of the rocket, you can see the venting and the and the little wisp of uh of clouds that are coming out from the top of the rocket in the middle part of the rocket. And that is because um just like you boil water on your stove, uh those propellants are boiling. Of course, their boiling point is much lower than uh 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 there' be all the water would be gone just, you know, 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 uh the rocket. So, uh that continues to go well. Overall look from the launch team here. This has been a very smooth countdown so far. The cryotanking went uh exceptionally well and uh the launch team uh 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, um the firing room is really encouraged by what they've seen to so far and are especially uh excited to see these astronauts getting inside the spacecraft. L minus 3 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, Darl. And you know, he mentioned that the crew decided to name Orion Integrity, and it was not something they uh came to easily. You know, they really wanted to put in a lot of thought. Uh and what they came down to is integrity is a value that NASA um embodies. And also individually they felt like integrity is something that speaks powerfully to them. >> Yeah. And I think the the other part of integrity, you know, it just represents the humility and the professionalism but be behind the entire team that built this rocket and got us here today. And so it's it's a fitting name for this capsule. >> Yeah, like I said, I think uh the crew said it it took them a little bit to 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 agencywide 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. >> 3 2 1. >> 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. uh 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 when you get 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 >> where Neil learned to land on the moon and Orion learned how to swim. We are with you all the way to Splash Town. >> Let's go fly from the Orion human engineering team. >> Like the full moon, your future is bright. >> Have a safe journey from the multidia team in Cleveland, Ohio. >> We hope to see you guys back safely in San Diego. Maybe singing some karaoke. >> Yeah. Yeah, right. Maybe. He He knows exactly what he wants to do. He's like, "Yep, karaoke." Uh, I love uh that people submitted videos. You know, this is something that we actually asked as part of the broadcast. We were like, you know what? I think it'll be really fun. And the overwhelming amount of people who uh 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. Uh, you know, kindergarten to congressman and all over the world. Everyone is ready for today and excited to see this launch. And so here we are again, still inside Orion with the closeout team, putting some final touches on uh it looks like Victor's configuration there. Again, making sure that his harness is set uh and that he's connected to cooling, he's connected to communications, and he's connected to um 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. Uh, 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. Nicole, you tell her what the moon is like. >> Oh, man. That was so cute. Oh, man. The moon is really cool. Right. So, it's it's a lot of like gray and white and kind of shades of gray. Um, it is something that doesn't have wind or rain or rivers or an atmosphere. Um, and so we like to say it's the Christina said it earlier, it's the witness plate to the universe. Um, and you know, it has all these impact craters because it's not protected. Uh, things hit it all the time. >> Uh, 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. Uh it can tell us a lot about the age of the universe and the age of the moon. You know, it's 4 and a half billion years old. Uh and we can learn a lot from just looking at the regalith 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 uh 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. Um you know, that's that's a great question and actually um part of what we're going to go do. So the the rocket is fairly automated, right? Um there's a countdown and the whole system knows when it needs to ignite the engines. Um but we are going to do some manual piloting throughout this mission. Um once they launch uh and they separate from the ICPS, they're they're actually going to do a rendevous and proximity operations demonstration. So what does that mean? They're going to take that portion of the rocket and they're going to try to fly closely to it. And so they will actually take manual control of the uh Orion spacecraft and try to get nice and close to uh the other portion of the rocket that had just separated. And so um you can see actually a little bit in the view that you have right now. So on the for Reed, the left-hand person, his right hand, there's a >> kind of a joystick if you will on the right side. And then on the left side, there's something similar. And so they've got, you know, translational and rotational hand controllers uh 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 uh Nicole was just talking about that proximity ops demo de 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 am going to bring you back to the moon board so I can show you just a few things about the Orion. Um, obviously it is going to be very compact sitting up there on top of the SLS rocket. Very compact. Like I mentioned, uh, over 355,000 pieces. So, let me show you a couple key components. Starting with these three fairing panels right there. >> When the rocket blasts off, obviously it is going to get >> MS1 on windy. And so we have these three fairing handles in place to help protect our astronauts. I am also into a little bit closer look and talk about the launch station. So 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. It 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 LA and those fairing 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, um, so much more. You can also do course corrections and things like that. So, super quick breakdown, but as you can see, all of these components together are going to make these spacecraft. Um, 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. Um, and we did want to point out that you did hear over the >> PLT NTD on RE one for comt. 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 one loop, uh, the communication channel for the crew. Successful com checks by both Victor and Christina. Rotina Earth One >> CDR. >> Yes, sir. Configure ARS to shoot mode for EPROC 10.1.1 crew ingress and vehicle pre-launch config. Step one. >> 10.1.1 crew ingress and vehicle pre-launch config. It's step one. Going in work now. And so see now we are privy to some of the uh countdown procedures that the team is asking for the crew to do. >> Yeah. So they're they're going to work through some of these procedures and finish the ingress portion uh as you heard in that procedure. So uh this is where the crew is going to start building their nest if you will uh running some procedures getting the capsule ready for humans to be on board. >> 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 um 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, uh let's check in with you about mission preparations. Hey Megan, thank you. Yes, we're following along here in Mission Control Houston copies. >> We'll stand by for those coms. And again, we're waiting for uh those comm checks. Um, we did confirm from our IVA officer here in Mission Control Houston that all four suits have plugged in umbilicals and CDR NTD. >> Go ahead, NTD. >> Yeah, Reed, we're ready to proceed with the uh voice checks if you and everyone else is. NTD integrity crew is ready for voice checks. >> I copy that. And integrity for the entire crew. Come check on Orion to Earth one. >> CLT MS1. >> MMS2. >> Good. Com check by all. Entity moving to Orion to Earth 2. >> CR TLT MMS1 MMS2 Integrity Houston on Orion to Earth one. Voice check for the entire crew. >> CDR >> PLT M1 >> MS2. Houston has all four crew loud and clear on OE1. Standby for two. >> Your initial word was broken. >> MS1. >> MMS2. >> Crew loud and clear on OE2. We'll use one for the default. Houston out and CDR entity CDR. >> Yeah, we're going to go ahead and uh 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 Orina Earth One >> CDR. >> Yes, sir. Perform crew suit leak checks per 10.1.1. Crew ingress and vehicle pre-launch config steps 2 through 4. Annunciation of LCC O- ARS-00001 will occur. >> 10.1 Crew address and vehicle pre-launch config steps 2 through 4 going in work now. This is mission control Houston. We are following along as the four crew members of Artemis 2 work through their voice checks and the umbilical connections and various pathway refresh 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. >> Hey firm, 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 uh 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 intra vehicular activity officer will be confirming the uh leak check status and watching as the suits pressurized to uh 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 main engine cutoff, Integrity will enter into a coast phase while still attached to the interim cryogenic propulsion stage or ICPS and prepared to deploy the solar arrays. With power being generated, Integrity prepares. >> Go ahead. >> With that uh refresh and uh you got to go to proceed with your 10.1. >> Picking up 10.1 step two decimal 3 through four. picking up the procedures. Uh the crew again working through the various steps to uh to prepare for launch. Standing by for this is mission control Houston. With visors closed, the pressurization tests uh can commence. We'll stand by to for word of a good uh leak check on all four of the crew member suits for the Artemis 2 mission. Again, this is uh the very beginning of a very busy uh flight day for our crew members. After launch, they have a series of burns to prepare for. Uh the first major burn being the perigee rays maneuver that allows them to continue in low earth orbit and the next being the apogee rays burn that puts them in a high earth orbit. This is uh an orbit that takes them around the earth for nearly a day, 23 and a half hours to be precise and allows uh the teams uh including the astronauts and the flight control teams to check out critical systems ahead of committing to the next day's trans lunar injection. But before they even call it a day, Integrity will separate from the ICPS and the crew will command >> and the crew will command uh >> the crew will uh command the Orion capsule to uh separate from the ICPS and turn around and approach the upper stage but not dock. This is to test Orion's inspace maneuvering capabilities and provide further confidence in docking to another lunar space vehicle like the human landing system that will 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 uh confirmation of good leak checks inside uh 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 procedures, 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 uh a pressure check verifying that the suits are leak-free ahead of uh the ascent portion of today's flight. How you see the crew now with visors down uh will be the configuration of uh their ascent all the way through core stage separation about a little more than 8 minutes uh 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 stop showstoppers here in Mission Control Houston. 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. As we wait for confirmation of a successful leap 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. >> All right. Thank you, Megan. And yes, uh getting some good communication, it's great to hear from the crew inside. Even though it is as simple as a comm check, uh it's really good to hear their voices as they move through those various com checks and then get ready for their suit leak checks. Fantastic views inside Orion that you're looking at now. Give you an update on the weather outside. We're still 80% go for our 2hour launch window, which starts at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time and closes at 8:24 p.m. 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. Wouldn't matter 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 uh the rest of the area might be getting a little bit wet. Uh which may include the host desk. So keep an eye out for that. As we're watching with the astronauts uh inside the Orion Integrity spacecraft, you'll be hearing more and more from them, especially Christina Cook, who is mission specialist number one, she uh not only is going to be making history. >> All crew visors open. Suit loop leak check complete. >> OTC. Okay, there you heard the suit leak check complete. They check those suits for leaks and astronaut crew quarters. They check them again inside the spacecraft. As you can see, the closeout crew uh our astronaut support person moving around. Turned off the camera. And so now we're looking from uh outside the Orion spacecraft looking towards Oh, no. 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 uh that she will have the role of ready for performing video using drag on camera. she will have the role of reading out a pressure reading that tells the team that um and CDR or entity >> go ahead NTD. Yeah, we're going to do another clean up on those uh soon leak check uh messages that we got from since we're done with that now. >> Integrity copies. >> And that's communication going between Orion Commander Reed Weisman and NASA test director Jeff Spalding. But as I was saying, Christina Cook will um 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. Um it's it's pneumatically opened and closed rather uh with a pressure assist that helps open it up. Not only that hatch, but also the last hatch. Uh there's two hatches there that we'll see that will be closed. But this is in case of uh an emergency out there at the pad. If the crew for some reason needed to exit quickly, then they would uh exit the spacecraft by pulling that lever, which would open both hatches. Those hatches are heavy. The um Orion hatch is um hundreds of pounds >> cameras one and two both set to record. >> Copies. >> And just an update on the launch countdown. Continuing to uh monitor the team's communications here in firing room one. Everything going really smoothly so far. We don't have any um 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, Darl. And so, we heard some of the communications over Orion to Earth 1, and it sounds like we are now moving into the hatch prep and closure phase. Uh we will now start to see the closeout crew uh getting out of Orion um 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 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. Um and then like Daryl talked about, uh then Christina will have a role in looking at the CBA there. So, >> yeah, you uh might have heard them say over the loops again that drag on camera. Um, so basically it's 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 um go and inspect the seal that there's two seals actually two seals that go around the entire um 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 the 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 um for just a minute and if it does then they will go ahead to pressurize the entire uh 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 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. Yeah, tons of people out here today. Thousands of people gathering at Banana Creek to enjoy NASA's uh 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 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 Dobs, former quarterback of the University of Tennessee with his extraordinary Dobs 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 9-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. It's something I never dreamed of as as a kid. >> And I'm actually joined here by the astronaut himself, Mr. Josh Dobs. Now, you have a history with NASA as well. You did an externship here. And how did that kind of play into your uh passion for aerospace and then the foundation that actually provided this opportunity for these students today? >> 100%. So I spent um a month here around the Artemis one 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 2 and um unfortunately Artemis 1 went in the middle of the season. So, it's surreal to be here for Artemis 2. And with my foundation, like the goal is to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that I've had and and pass them 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 it's an honor to be here. We're really appreciative of all the engineers and 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 and 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 liftoff. Not even hours before liftoff, but hours before a two-hour launch window. So, people just really committed to being here and seeing it in person. >> Yeah, you can see the Banana Creek is already buzzing right there 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 liftoff here shortly. >> Okay, so as we know, Victor, Reed, Christina, and Jeremy will have their hands full during their mission. Uh, so for some of their test flight objectives, let's go back to Megan Carter at the Moonboard. All right, as we have seen from those camera views, their capsule is very uh 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 ft in diameter and a whopping 10.5 in height. Uh, think of it about the same cubic feet as two minivans. So, obviously, every piece of that capsule has been planned with purpose. And um a really great example of that is going to be these seats that we have seen that live view of. 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 um daily activities and things like that. While they are on board, obviously they are going to have a lot of things to do. Um one of those is going to be to manually fly Orion as we've discussed, but they also have several other objectives as well. Um, and they are going to be doing lots of system checkouts, uh, checking out the service module, making sure everything is working correctly. Um, 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, um, 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. Um, I think I saw somewhere that one of their meals is going to be mac and cheese and brisket. So, that makes the southern and me very happy. All right. But they are going to have also um 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 2 chief training officer. >> I'm the SLS launch integration and mission operations lead. >> I am the recovery director. >> And I'm Boeing's core stage IP leader at Kennedy Space Center. >> I am the Artemis 2 entry flight director. >> That I'm the close-up crew lead for Artemis 2. >> Our job is to design the space suits that the crew will wear for the Aremis 2 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. So 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 in case we do need to rescue the crew or they landed 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 the SLS program. One of the specific things that we do is support launch operations. It means a lot to be a part of this Artemis team to show the next generation and seeing 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 is 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 Aremis one mission and uh after that mission completed I was assigned as the entry flight director for Artemis 2. I can't wait to see the hatch open after splashdown. That's when we know that uh our mission will be complete and the crew will have safely returned to the moon and back to Earth. >> Loar crew is responsible for getting the astronauts up to the white room, getting their helmets and gloves on, getting them into the vehicle safely, uh connecting all their umbilicals, making sure they're ready to go for launch, and then uh closing the crew module 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 NC's? How are we doing our timelines, our procedures? Artemis 2 is a 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 going to 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. Mhm. Mhm. And what was really fun to see is, you know, we interviewed Taylor Hose, um, 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 uh, one of two hatches. We have the side hatch of the crew module as well as the launch abort system hatch. Correct. >> Yeah, the uh, the astronauts are in the 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. That's a great shot right there where you can see them. Uh 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, >> took you back. >> We've talked about this, but everybody has an interest in this mission. You know, it's humanity trying to explore and go back to the moon. And I love this question, you know, um what part of the moon are we going to? You know, eventually we want to get to the polar regions, uh the south pole specifically. We think that there are volatiles there. So, water, ice, something that can be harnessed as a resource, uh as we create the permanent base on the moon and then try to get onto Mars. Um but getting to the moon is a tricky it's a tricky uh mission. You know, we we go we're going further than we have in a long time. And you know, on the International Space Station, we're 250 miles from the Earth. And so, we're pretty close. we resupply that uh 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, um the comm delay, you know, 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 the 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 going to 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. Um, you know, there's so much to learn uh from this particular mission because obviously we're not landing with this mission. Um, 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 going to see parts of the lunar surface that 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. You know, 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. You know, how do what is the context of the moon? What what parts of the moon look interesting and look different? You know, the impact craters that we talked about earlier. Um, so really trying to take all the pictures, take all the observations, write down, talk about their observations, and record as much data as we possibly can for the researchers back here on Earth. Mhm. 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 uh you know, have the support the way that they've been having the I mean, they'll be talking um through communications, but you know what I mean. It's just them and the moon, right? So they need to be fully um 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 their specific flyby around the the moon, you know, will uh 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 back side of the moon because they're not going to have communication. you know, they're they're going to have a I think 45 plus minute kind of blackout while they're Yeah. 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 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, 2 hours 57 minutes and counting to the opening of our 2-hour launch window for Aremis 2. 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 Anne Wilson. Oh, say can you see by the dawn early light? What so proudly we held at the twilight last we broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight or the red parts we were so streaming and the rockets red. The bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does thy star spangled B yet. Or the land of the free and the home of the bra. A beautiful rendition. Honestly, I'm a little emotional, a little speechless. >> Yeah, 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 we do want to be uh 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 um 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, you go together. And we want to go far. We want to get onto Mars eventually and so we're gonna 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 closeout 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 crew has the opportunity to set the ambiance if you will uh they were given the opportunity to adjust the lighting as they see fit. Again, just so that they can get comfortable. Um it's kind of like when we uh 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, you know, the um tablet on Jeremy's knee well. So, uh they're going to adjust the lighting to what makes sense for for the mission. >> And we saw in that very quick shot there, uh 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. Um 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. That's they just got closed. You can see he's torquing those bolts down. >> Um, and that is the hatch that completes the Orion capsule. And then you have the launch abort system, uh, which actually is kind of almost a shell that goes around the capsule and holds onto the cap 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 offnominal uh data point. So, 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 uh and get them into the 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 Leam Martin standing by with the person who designed this missions. 's zero gravity indicator named rise, it was second grader Lucas Ye from California. Hey Leah. >> Hey Megan. Yes. Of the many special guests we have with us today. Um I think one of our most exciting guests is Lucas who's joining us like you said all the way from California. Uh he and his 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 2 launch and Earth Rise 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 uh 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 a design you created is actually currently on that rocket just a couple hours away from going from going to space? >> Really really really really really surprised and very happy >> and very happy. Now mom, you were 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 person. It's definitely very surreal to be here in person that um Commander Weisman 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, um 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? Uh it feels like very very happy and surprised. >> So if you had uh one one word of encouragement or something to say to the crew who's sitting on that rocket right now, what would you say? >> Um go >> what? >> Go Artimus. >> Go Archimus. >> Go Artemis. Thanks so much, Megan. >> I would say have a nice trip. >> You would say have a nice >> 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 uh hard to come up with a spot what to say to the crew who's about to make history today. >> Yeah. >> And so, the Artemis 2 crew, again, ZGI, zero gravity indicator. It's a uh a plushy, a soft toy that is brought in uh to the spacecraft with astronauts so that it can be a visual indicator for when we have reached the weightlessness of space. Right. >> Yeah. You saw a little replica there that Lucas had and then in some of the views in the cabin view, you could see it swinging and hanging uh earlier. So, I think actually Jenny was the one who installed it uh into the capsule really yesterday. Yeah. >> 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 astronauts that they've reached weightlessness. For Artemis 2, 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. 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 Gddard 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 thread's going to out gas or if it will hold up if it's flame retardant. This is the Ryzgi doll. All I have left to do is to close the opening here and hand sew 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 the moon and Earth. It's just such a cute and wonderful way to uh represent this mission. >> Yeah. And again, Earthrise very important to this crew. It uh hearkens back to the picture that was taken by the Apollo 8 crew where they saw Earthrise. Um and so very appropriate since again now here we are going to see Earth rise again um with this mission. >> Yep. >> 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 uh with the crew. So get this, more than 5 million people submitted their names as part of NASA's send your name to space campaign. And actually, Christina said that her niece and nephews names are inside that SD card. >> 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. Uh as uh we said the purpose of a zero gravity indicator is uh to show when we've reached the weightlessness of space. Now um I know that it's probably dark in there because as we said the crew decided to um uh just dim it a little bit for them. But here again as we see Reed uh on your left, Victor on your right below 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 uh between basically uh Victor and Christina is where Jenny Gibbons has placed the zero gravity indicator. And Jenny, who again um Nicole just brought up, Jenny is one of the backup crew members. So we we mentioned how Andre is the backup crew member for the AS NASA astronauts. Jenny is the backup crew member for Jeremy. >> Yeah, Jenny's uh one of our Canadian astronauts. Um, and yeah, so she's been also helping with preparations for today and helping the get the white room ready, get the capsule ready. Um, and she's actually going to be a a Capcom 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 really enjoyed working alongside both Andre and Jenny. >> Yeah, actually Jenny was our EVQ mentor when I went through our Ask Cancer initial training. So, she helped us with all of our spacew walk 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 here at the Kennedy Space Center launch team. Uh working no major constraints to launch, which is great news. Uh we did get uh an update on a weather balloon that the launch weather officer uh and his team released. This is an important weather balloon released uh at the right around the 3-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 LAS. Uh this would of course pull the Orion spacecraft off the top of the rocket in case there were an emergency and then take them uh offshore uh to a water landing in the Atlantic Ocean. And so the winds are pushing on shore. And uh because they're pushing on shore, 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 thousands of feet and then splash down in 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 giving us a little weather action uh down to the south of us along what's called the beach line 528. Got a whole lot of people out there. We're getting ready to watch uh the Aremis 2 historic launch. Well, they just got a good soaking line of storms, line of rain showers, I should say, pass through that area and soak the place. Um so uh certainly rain is a possibility, spotty showers from time to time, but overall 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 p.m. to 8:24 p.m. Eastern time. We don't have a specific T0 at this moment. There's a lot that needs to be calculated before we get there. Uh we also need to get through the rest of the countdown uh on time. As of right now, we are right on time. Uh the launch countdown is going exactly as planned. That's not something that we saw certainly in Artemis 1. Uh there was a lot of flexing in the timeline during those three launch attempts back in uh 2022. Uh but so far today on our first launch attempt, we're really enjoying some uh really solid countdown work, some solid operations by the launch team so far. And to quote our friend Lucas who invited who and uh created Earthrise, we all really really really really like that. We'll send it back to the host desk. >> Thanks so much, Darl. 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 uh 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 Daryl 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 assembly 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, Christina is the one that has to open that hatch. So, once she gets it uh unlatched and unlocked, then that pneumatic system will help move the hatch. It weighs a lot and so the average human uh cannot open that hatch by themselves. And so, that's why we want to make sure that the system is pressurized uh 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 uh 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 flight. 2 hours 37 minutes and counting from the opening of our 2-hour launch window today at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time. After liftoff, 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 uh monitoring here in Mission Control Houston. Flight controllers are looking at data from Integrity and 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 and ASEN today. It's the team you see in this room that would be looking after ascent, 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 relayed between Stan Love, the Capcom you see here in this shot in uh mission control Houston. That's the voice from this room and the Artemis 2 crew on a communications channel aptly named Orion to Earth. Here are the calls you may hear during this part of the mission. Uh, Capcom Stanlo, 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 1 minute 25 seconds, we'll hear max Q on PDL. This notes that re uh reaching the mo 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 Ponad Deleó 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 jettison and the reaction control thrusters on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage that enable pointing and maneuvering are ready. At 3 minutes 50 seconds, you'll hear voice check on Tedrris at the Karman 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 uh tracking and daily relay satellites rather uh which is part of a geocynchronous satellite network and the same assets that are used aboard the international space station. This communication switch happens to be at the Carmen line, a widely recognized boundary about 62 miles statute miles or 100 km 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 7 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 AOA 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 8 minutes you'll hear nominal mo. You won't hear mo 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 assent 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. Teams 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 Jud Freeling expressed his confidence to the team, citing the hundreds of simulations to prepare for this very moment. These are the calls you'll hear during ascent less than 3 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 Coast. >> 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. >> Thanks 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 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 2 crew? >> Well, as I mentioned to you, I've known Jeremy since 2020 and uh 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 is 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. Uh she'll be listening in on Capcom. What is her role going to be like? >> So Dr. Jenny Gibbons has been training uh 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 of the systems test out and work perfectly. And then she will be among the first lunar Capcom helping the astronauts navigate during their mission. >> Wow, Lisa, that is so exciting. Any final words for the Nation of Canada before today's mission. >> Just 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, Jasmine. >> Of course. And with that, let's get back to NASA's Megan Cruz. And right now >> ahead press has been completed. Did you see any drop in pressure >> and MS1 we saw just a little bit. It is just over 2600 now. >> Up. Thank you ma'am. Again, a call out to mission specialist Christina Cook. Again, it was her responsibility to monitor the pressure uh the pressure on the counterbalance um 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 they might have had a small drop, but um you know, we have we have a a starting pressure and an ending pressure and as long as the difference isn't too high, then we will take that and the the engineers know exactly what they're looking at 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 worked 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 marching down the 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 Moonboard. 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 uh 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 ex uh 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 um even before launch like you mentioned, they are out there making their way through that checklist. Um, 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 zipline them essentially down to the ground within seconds to safety. Another great example of those safety procedures are going to be the LA 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 um 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 um communication checkouts. That is going to be vital. I know we talked a little bit earlier um 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 uh space to ground so that we can fully support them here. We are also going to be checking out those life support systems. Um 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, um 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 and or that uh that flight data. and we're going to be able to take that back, analyze it, and make sure there are um if there are any enhancements we need or changes we need to make before our next missions, we'll be able to do so. So, lots they're going to still lots to do. They're going to stay 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. Uh 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 a group of from the uh International Space Station Ambassadors program who have come from all over the all over the globe. Saku, you're here from Japan. You've come back from Mexico. And then we have brother and sister Cosmo and Jessica here who are visiting from Germany. Uh you actually told me that you participated in an in the NASA rover challenge um in Huntsville. How was that experience and how is it kind of participating there uh in Alabama and then 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 Aremis missions, we talked a lot about the Aremis Accords and this being an international effort. You were actually telling me Saku that you're interested in becoming um an astronaut with JAXA pursuing your PhD to be able to do that. Tell me a little bit about that. >> Yes, actually I applied for Japanese aerospace agency the 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 be at the launch pad sometime and then I hope to go back to the moon and Mars and yeah I'm working on it. Absolutely incredible. And Val, you're you're you're from Mexico. Uh, we were talking a little bit about women in space. This is a a team who, you know, is predominantly made up of women. What is it like knowing that Christina 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 uh 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 space uh big step in equality as well. Uh Megan, a lot of excitement here, not just in Florida, but from around the globe. And 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 our big part of the reason why >> decimal 6. >> Good readback. Ox one voltage 131 decimal 3. >> I copy 131 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 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 uh Lisa said earlier, we're going to go farther and faster than we possibly can alone. And uh 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. >> And we have that great shot there and our small box uh of the rocket on the pad and at the very top there. Our Artemis 2 crew. Uh right now we know that the crew has begun uh the closeout crew has begun uh doing that cabin leak check. So they are currently pressurizing the cap uh 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 five minutes. Right. >> Yes, that's correct. Yeah. So there's quite a bit of volume. You know, we talked about it being a sixperson tent. I think uh it's 330 cubic feet. Don't quote me on that number, but uh you know they have to pressurize that capsule and then uh like we talked about take that initial pressure, wait 5 minutes and take the second pressure. >> Yeah. And then it takes about uh 6 to8 minutes again to depressurize the cabin. So this process will take a few minutes switch 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? That's it's all good news hearing the crew talk to the ground and working together to to get to the launch. >> And what I think is really cool is that this is the first time 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 Aremis team and so excited for what you 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 Artemis 2 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 had a hand in getting the Aremis 2 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 the uh International Space Station is an orbiting lab. We learn so much there and we're going to learn so much more from Aremis 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 protected 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 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 it'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 that 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 new generation of lunar science discovery. The human eyeball is capable of taking in so much data in just a split second. They'll be able to tackle impact history, volcanic history. They'll be able to look at how the albido or kind of the the shade and 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 backroom where it's basically our brain trust of lunar scientists and geologists supporting the crews of the future. and Artemis 2 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 cubats, their small shoe box size 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, you know, 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 in the future. 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 learn 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 10day mission, we are covering a lot of science from cubats to tissue chips. What are you most looking forward to learning? >> Oh my goodness. I think for me the most exciting thing is actually uh being able to interact with the crew while they are flying um doing this historic journey on the on the far side of the moon. They are going to be seeing pieces of of the moon that no human eyes have seen before which is really spectacular. Um it's going to be an interesting trajectory. Some of it is in darkness. Um then at at the terminator, so in darkness they'll be able to look for like impact flashes and things when micrometeorites pummel that poor moon. Um 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 sunlit uh picking out everyone's favorite craters. Um 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 it is unique. It's very different to the near side of the moon. The the actual sort of terrain, the morphology, it's very very different. Um and so it will be very exciting to see that um as we're 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 2. Can you speak to the commercial lunar landers we're planning to send? Yes. Uh we are very very proud of our commercial partners um as they uh they take our payloads for us to the lunar surface and uh very excited. Next one up uh is Blue Origins Blue Go uh Blue uh Moon Blue Moon Mark 1 um going it's got some science on it. It's got a the scalps that went on um 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 uh the laser retroreflector that will be the you know the array that's up there too. So uh even 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 Armis 2 is we're sending crew. Can you speak to the importance of the human element of science? >> Absolutely. I mean that the you know we can program like we do with our 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 is hearing one of them say, "Oh my goodness, look over there." And I think that's just incredible um about how how we do that. Also flying our tissue chips with uh with the astronauts um our avatar experiment. Uh here we go. Avatar. Um, and that's got the tissue chips samples um that matched to the crew. So, we'll be able to monitor uh 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 uh 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 going to do. Um, and then, you know, she talked about made a really great point about, you know, the human eye can pick things out that a that a camera or a robot can't necessarily uh pick out. And so that's why we're sending humans, but also we're not just doing the lunar observations. We're the avatar. Like that's a really cool experiment. You know, 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 is like feels like scient, you know, sci-fi movie stuff. >> But, you know, we're going to look at radiation. And we're going to look at all sorts of different uh scientific experiments. You know, we got the little cube sats. We're going to go look at space weather. Lots going on. >> Yeah. Even collecting some of the astronauts saliva. You can learn a lot about the body through the saliva. So, just really um 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 moon. >> Yeah. And so, again, her energy just so uh uh uh Oh my god, I'm can't find the words. So >> wonderful. >> Awesome. Could not I don't know why I couldn't find the word. Um so anyway, yeah, just really again, thank you Dr. Nikki Fox and Jasmine. And so Nicole, what about answering more questions? >> Let's do it. >> Okay, great. Uh first one, what was the word I was trying to get out? No, no, no, no. I'm kidding. Uh let's have the first question up on the screen now. I know we got him. I see him being asked >> and CDR OTC Earth one >> go. >> For your awareness, scrubber cycling is about to be restarted. >> Integrity copies. >> All right, let's try that again. And can we get the next social question, please? What are the G forces experienced by the Aremis astronauts during launch and re-entry? Oh, you know, these are um actually pretty similar to, you know, a Dragon launch or a shuttle launch. Um, you know, we have to accelerate to get out of the Earth's atmosphere and then, um, you know, we talked about the secondary burns that they will do to get away from Earth. But um you know for me personally I've kind of felt like we got slingshoted 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. >> CDR OTC Earth one. >> Go ahead. >> Leak check complete. The 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 6 to 8 minutes. Exciting. >> Yes. Yeah. Go ahead. >> Like we talked about continuing to march towards the launch. Um yeah. So the G-forces are into your chest. Um and it's kind of a slow build and you can get all the way up to four four and a half G's into the chest um during the launch and some often they have to back off on the thrust a little bit so that um you don't get too high in the G-forces. uh and especially as we go through kind of max Q or that max aerodynamic uh force. So as they get through the thicker parts of the atmosphere um and then very similar G-forces on the way home. So slow steady build up to about four or four and a half gs as the uh 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 >> 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'll 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 Aremis 2 are you most excited for? Liftoff, 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 copout. All right. Now, let's head back over to Banana Creek again. Crowds there. Really excited. People coming from all over the country, from around the world. Why don't we get another check with Leah 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. Uh, today we're actually talking to some local students who are from right here locally Merit Island in Titusville. Uh, 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. Um, so, uh, 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 Merit Island High School is doing? >> Sure. Well, uh, this is a new program, first of its kind here at 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 uh engineering, aerospace engineering, and we're trying to make all kinds of uh pathways available for them, trying to give them opportunities to see which pathway they might want to be interested in. So, yeah, it's just a great opportunity for them to learn about space. Uh 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, Titusville, you guys also have a similar but slightly different program. >> Yes, we do space meatronics with advanced manufacturing repairing students to build and manufacture um 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 uh trying to figure out a little bit what you want to do when you're done. You're freshman in high school. how what's what uh what things are you learning in your in your class here that are really kind of kind of tweaking your interest in the 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 and coding. >> Absolutely. And you were actually telling me that uh you actually I think were telling me that you're interested in becoming a pilot. We talked a little bit about the pilot who is on uh on board the rocket right now. Uh how is this uh 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 this 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 uh 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 here. As soon as uh 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, 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 uh the lawn behind us just filled with media from around the world uh making sure that they can help tell uh our story to everyone who is interested in hearing it. So uh 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 Lorie 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, uh, Lori, this is our very first time having crew on an Aremis mission. How does that feel and how does that change our overall approach to the mission? >> It's a really good question and you, 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. Uh, one of the most important things on this mission, different from Artemis One, 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 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 one, but it wasn't active. But we definitely had that active on this mission. And 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 Aremis 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 at the back end, they'll be there to uh 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 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, our 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 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. >> Yeah, and speaking of the countdown, 1 hour 59 minutes and counting until the opening of our 2-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 riders, they were coming to see the launch. You know, everybody's excited and uh traveling from all over the world to come see this launch. >> And it really is a great day. We had some sprinkles here um in the crowd, but for the most part, I mean, just a beautiful day to witness history. >> It is. Yeah. you know, little bit of sprinkles, but for the most part, the clouds are staying away. Um, and you can see the blue sky behind us. So, uh, hoping for good weather in a couple hours. >> Absolutely. And so, Dr. uh, Lorie Glaze mentioned, "What we learn from the Artemis 2 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 uh about working across the teams uh throughout the nation is true. It takes one NASA team uh to bring everything together and accomplish the mission objectives. The Artemis 2 is designed as the first crude flight test flight of NASA's Aremis 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 crude mission inside the Orion spacecraft, this mission serves to demonstrate the capability of safe 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, there's 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 space flight is a complicated endeavor that requires precision and confidence 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. A lot 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 uh 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. Uh 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 Daryl. All right, thank you uh Megan and uh we are live in firing room one here at the launch uh control complex. Uh yes, we are currently not working any constraints with regards to the rocket or the ground systems. Um but the launch team has been made aware of an issue that the range is working and uh currently they're monitoring uh that work that is going on over at the range. uh we understand that that uh issue is related to the flight termination system. Now 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 um send a destruct signal to a rocket in case it veers off path. So, it's a very critical uh important safety component um in terms of how the range keeps uh the public safe here. We understand that the flight termination system they're working on an issue um and so as they continue to work that issue um they've asked for uh some assistance from the launch team to help verify some of the work that they're doing uh on their FTS system. And and this is where it gets um a pretty unique situation uh here. The assistance they've asked for is uh is to verify uh some 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, um the FTS uh 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 the um solution that he proposed to check and verify the system with the launch director 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, um, this console operator who works FTS, um, was granted, uh, permission to go and, uh, go over to the VAB next door and get this equipment that he's very much aware of and and used 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. Uh but that is not stopping us from moving forward in the countdown. Uh we can continue to uh process and work the countdown. Um 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 uh in regards to um as far as my understanding goes. A pretty unique situation here uh with trying to uh bring resolution uh and kind of help out uh the situation that we're seeing at the range right now. And that's the latest here from the firing room. We'll send it back to Megan and uh Nicole at the host desk. >> Thank you, Darl. I guess very unique. Um, 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 uh example of human creativity, right? We know this thing exists. Let's go. Let's go solve this problem. Uh we have time. You know, like Daryl said, we're going to continue to march down the countdown. Uh so we'll continue to get the rocket and the crew ready, but we will we still have that two-hour window. So, in the meantime, let's try to figure out what's happening uh with the range. And uh >> and speaking of the range, what what is the range for for people who might not watch rocket launches with us? >> Sure. Yeah. So, anytime that you launch a rocket, uh you have to clear the airspace right uh in the launch corridor. So, where the rocket's flight path is going to go, you have to make sure that uh that whole airspace is clear. Um and so that we actually have uh assets. you know, the the Space Force helps us out with this one, but um you know, we want to make sure that there aren't airplanes in the way and there aren't other you know, maritime assets in the way or things like that. So that there's a whole group of people. We talked actually Gary said it great, right? It's a 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. Um 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 Darl said, I mean it is uh very important the flight termination system needing to activate it in case of an emergency. So yes, something that uh we will closely be monitoring um through out uh the countdown and and hopefully again won't be an issue that they can uh fix this issue by uh going to uh 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 2-hour launch window, 6:24 p.m. Eastern time. The crew, as you can see there, inside of Orion, relaxing, uh, getting updates from the team, but also just getting in the right headsp space 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 a little kid lying in bed at night and just looking out at 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 and I was 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 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 Wisman. I'm the commander of NASA's Aremis 2 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 career. Flying is freedom to me especially when you're in a in a jet aircraft coming off of an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Nearest land is over 1500 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 an aircraft over the Pacific. Just just it's free. I think anybody who accomplishes something that they set their mind out to, there's 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 the 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 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 mi up, I never had that feeling of falling or that I was, you know, at risk up there. I I just kind of love 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 uh who are 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 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 on the space station the first time I got to sit in the Koopa 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 Aremis 2 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 want to be and that just gave me an easy thing to 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, 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 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. 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 3, that's something to really be excited about. >> I tell a story which is one that my dad told me before the Apollo missions when 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 Aremis 2 mission around the moon. When I look back on 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 and 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 oftent times between the pine tree branches or I loved the ocean. Uh, 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 carried 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 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, um, 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 It's just the epitome of a symbol of something that's in each of our hearts, but that's 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 Aremis 2 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 treehouse 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 just little things would 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 to figure out how to use your energy towards adding positively to humanity's existence on this planet. But 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. They 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. 1 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. What a great view, Nicole. >> Yes, it is. You know, we 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. Uh about a couple of hours ago, uh folks with special passes to come on center were allowed to uh 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 interest that we have here at the press site. 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, uh, broadcasting to their own viewers. And so, again, just really cool to see everybody wanting to share in this moment. Yeah, that's I mean how many media tents we can see from here. Um 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. >> Just kidding. Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington. So sorry. Hello to you over there. We're 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 would will grow uh when we get closer to launch. Um, Marshall, the home of the SLS rocket. >> Yes. Yeah, this is a 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, >> now they know. Yeah, now they know they're on the broadcast. That's too funny. >> Hey, listen. It's all right. We can sit. We can sit and chill until we wait for the opening of the window. No, 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. >> There's a little a little delay. >> Yeah, that's all right. >> Well, thanks so much uh to those supporting these watch parties and bringing them to us live here. Um actually our video paths uh are taking quite a route to be able to bring those live views in from Seattle as well as uh 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 going to 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 Aremis 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 focus focused specifically on the far side of the moon for this one for a specific reason. You might have guessed we are going to 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. Um and as you can see here we have identified nine potential landing zones. So this is going to be a critical objective for our crew. Um we depending on when they launch, we will uh it 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 going to 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 want to think of it essentially as um a backpacking trip. Um if you have your tent and your hiking boots and your camping stove and all your gear, you don't want to take that out and be on the trail for the first day and then try everything out. You're going to 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 to Mars in the future. It's 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. Uh 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 we're going back. Um 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 uh 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 are removing basically fixtures that protected um the uh crew module hatch while they did work around it, right Nicole? >> Yep. Yeah. So, anytime that you're moving around and working, there are some sensitive uh sensors and parts uh of the crew module that we don't want to kick or bump into. 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 again, the launch abort system hatch. Can you tell us about what the last is? >> Yeah, so launch abort system. Um, this is, you know, the we have the crew module and then what sits out on basically on top of the crew module is the launch abort system. Um, and it has its own motors. So that we'll arm it about five minutes prior to launch and then it uh stays with the crew module until about the Carman line. So that 100 kilometer uh point in the in space once the crew could safely get to orbit uh it will actually be jettisoned uh and the crew module then 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 roll 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 launch abort 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. But we don't want anything left up there in the white room. Uh and especially because that crew accessis arm will move away from the capsule and the rocket. And so we want an empty white room. No FOD like we talked about uh so that we can have a safe launch. >> 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 um 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 2 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 2 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 uh in terms of that increment. They're going to fly around the moon and set up the rest of the Aremis 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 much uh 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 to orient people again, uh, so basically we have Christina in your upper right hand. Nope, sorry, Christine in your upper leftand corner. Then you have, uh, 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 um 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 room. 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. Re just making sure that thing won't make the spot. >> 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. Yeah, ours is on the lefth hand side there. Uh yeah, that's it's a fun fun tradition. This is a really fun day, too. You know, they did this a couple 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 um basically like an I uh a computer there on Jeremy's uh leg, a way for him to just check out the data, see some of the data that also Reed and um Victor are getting to see, but in those much bigger displays for Orion, >> right? Yeah. Yeah, it's a 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. Um, can you talk a little bit about what that is? It's it's part of uh all of them have like a a little procedural book, right? >> Right. Yeah. So, they have what we call a kneeboard. Um, and they'll have blank pages to take notes on. They might have a Q card or procedures or they can be kind of customuilt to what each crew member wants for uh their kneeboard. >> 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 flight. 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 liftoff 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 is all about. >> We're not sending our money to the moon and lighting it 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 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 cuz 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. >> Yeah. Across the country and across the world. Right. The the whole world has a part of this. The Artemis Accords are signed by over 40 50 different countries. And so yeah, we're spurring we're taking all of the taxpayers money and we're putting it right back into the jobs here in the US. 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, 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 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 uh close to four hours. So, thank you Nicole. I hope you're holding up. Okay. >> Yeah, I'm loving it out here. It's been great. >> Let's learn a little bit more about Nicole. Uh 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. And 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 research researchers deliver medicines more effectively. She also conducted an almost six-hour spacew walk to help upgrade the orbiting labs power system. Nicole is a lieutenant colonel in the US 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. Oh, that one, too. >> Young explorers. Yes. >> Yes. Yes. That's so great to uh 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 and see where that takes you. >> Yeah. I 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. Um, and you know, I think it's a testament to 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 team has said the same uh the crew has said the same sort of things. So, absolutely, Nicole, thank you so much for being here. And hopefully only a little bit more until launch today. >> Hopefully. So today's Aremis 2 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 2 crew is set to launch today, will join a select list of humans to fly in a spacecraft for the very first time. And Artemis 2, 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 Stan Love during ascent, and some are a little more subtle. These calls can be split into two categories. Alternate main engine cutoff or MCO targets and aborts. First, there are two alternate MO 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 engine uh if the core stage loses one engine at this moment, an abort once option could be made at main engine cutoff, meaning the crew could target a splash down in the Pacific. The second is AMT high, which would be called out by Capcom Stan Love around 22 seconds. After this moment, if the core stage loses an engine, we can still pursue an alternate mission in lower Earth orbit 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 MCO 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 cut off 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 3 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 uh particular abort capability can be used from here at the pad through roughly 3 minutes and 22 seconds into the flight. Next is an unargeted abort splashdown or UAS. This uses Orion service module engines to escape the SLS and becomes available immediately after the launch abort system jettison. Third is an abort once around or AOA. You'll hear a Capcom Stanlo Love call AOA open around 7 minutes 30 seconds into the flight. This also uses a 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 aboard 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 atto option becomes available until separation from the upper stage around 3 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 2 crew and flight control teams are well trained on all of these scenarios, and the calls you hear 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 on go for when we reach T0. With that, I'll send it back to you, Megan, at the Kennedy Space Center. >> All right, we are ready for another reading if you are ready over there. >> Yes, sir. 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. >> Kathy, >> you heard it there from NASA test director Jeff Spalding. 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. Uh 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 uh the launch team as we speak. Stand by one second. Okay. Sorry about that. Um, we were just getting an update in fact about what I was I was about to report out on the range and uh the good news is the range is go. Um, so we reported uh that they were uh working to verify their equipment uh regarding the the FTS system and um they asked for uh a little of that verification work to be done by uh one of the FTF FTS engineers here uh in the firing room. Um he uh went out to the VAB to get some legacy hardware uh to help out with it. Um but uh in the end uh this is a fix that the uh the range had uh come up with to get clearance uh to clear the range rather and to as well uh work the FTS system. And so now uh uh 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. Um clear board here is great news. So again, um the range is is green and uh we're continuing to work through uh the countdown. Um we got a weather update that came in to the launch director from launch weather officer Mark Burgerer. Uh he reported out that there's still a little bit of feisty weather activity that's happening up in the Titusville area. That's the city neighboring uh the Kennedy Space Center. uh those uh showers had passed over Kennedy and then uh and then now they're currently over in Titusville currently still within that mile kind of constraint of flight through precipitation rule but we're so we're still far enough from the uh window that it looks like it won't be an issue and in fact we're seeing some good sunlight now breaking through um onto the launch pad as you can see um it's actually shining on the other side of the rocket here, but um to the west we're starting to see some of that clearing that was forecast. And so the launch weather officer held his uh 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. And we're also hearing that uh the last hatch closure, as you can see in the bottom corner of your screen, uh 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. Um right on time with their work as they go to shut. And you can see it in in motion right now. that launch aboard system hatch. That's the latest from the firing room. We'll send it back to the host desk. >> Thank you so much, Darl. 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 got to be exciting. The crowd is building. Um, and as Daryl said, you can start to see the sun poking out here, and we can see the 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 heard a big rumble as soon as Daryl said that the range was clear for launch, everybody clapped. It was super excited. As we get to do some final countdowns standing next to me. I have Hudson and Maddox, the set of brothers here. And I asked you a little bit earlier, how excited are you to be here for launch? What did you say? >> I'm very excited. I I'm It's our mom's birthday and you know So, not a better way to celebrate right now. I asked you on a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you? Would you say >> 11? 11. I'm very excited. Super excited. Yeah. >> 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 10day trip around the moon and take three people with you, who would you take with you? >> Well, I' I'd take my dad and my mom. And I mean, I don't know. I probably >> my my best friend. I I would just say one of my friends, you know. >> Oh, one of your friends. So, brother got left out. Who would you take? >> That was just what I was thinking. My dad and my mom and my best friend. >> 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, uh 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 launching 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 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 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 is is everything to us. So, >> 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, Leo, we did hear that cheer. That was very exciting. Uh 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 uh at the launch pad. The closeout crew has closed the launch abort system hatch. You saw there we took it live. Uh it 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 closed 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 hatch is. This hatch is just as heavy probably. Um and so, you know, they're working the closure here. um and working those connections. And you can see, yeah, there's still three, four, five people that we can see in the white room. It's takes a lot of people to get this uh these hatches closed and this rocket ready to 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. Um and really then at that point it's just all four of the crew member, Victor Reed, Christina, and Jeremy by themselves at the top of the launchpad. >> Yeah. And then eventually that crew axis 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 fear of heights, but most of our crew is afraid of heights. And so, there was a moment where I I realized that it was just us, you know,und and some odd feet up and >> no crew access arm and >> may or may not have said something that made everybody go, >> "Were you wondering to yourself, what? How did I get here?" >> We were pretty far up. That crew again bringing that drag on camera. Uh that camera is a handheld camera that is a uh 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 they're covering the ends of those hoses. Um 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 uh working to close out the hoses as well while they're cleaning up the white room. >> And so they'll tape that close. You just saw number five. Number five holding some tools. Again, we'll stow those away. You have to account for everything obviously. You know, they they did have tools out. They did have uh 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 uh his suit there. >> That's again just to make sure that we don't lose anything. If you know, 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. Um, you know, there's probably a little bit of a lull right now. um monitoring some systems, but you can see Reed's got his feet crossed. So, I think just trying to relax um and you know, pass the time by maybe thinking through uh the items that they're going to monitor through the launch uh you know, the different uh jobs that each of them have throughout the launch and once they get to orbit. You know, this first day on orbit is actually really busy for them. >> Um they've got, you know, 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 um I don't think they get a full night's rest for quite some time. So, yeah. >> Uh 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 day 10 days. Let's take a look at at what life will be like in Orion. Artemis 2 is our first crude mission back to the moon since the Apollo program. A lot of the focus of Artemis 2 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 and the Aremis 2 mission and this is 10 days in Orion. For this mission, um 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, um, systems to feed the crew. They have a portable water dispenser that they'll check out. And then we also have a food warmer. Kind of looks like a suitcase that the crew can use to heat their food. They're also going to check out the flywheel system. We'll have the crew perform some initial exercises. Part of that is to ensure that the flywheel 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. Some 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 dawn 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 serve as 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. Um, 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 uh some of the food that they're going to have with them on their 10-day journey around the moon. We know of uh 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. >> They're actually not too bad. I actually have a mango peach smoothie with me today. No way. >> Yeah. Um, so you can see they come in um these little packets here, but um 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 in it. You saw in that package they put a straw on the top septum portion there. >> Um and then you can drink it. >> And so this is this is the packaging. This is food that you brought up with you or or that you had um 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 the graphic there showed quite a bit of the standard menu that they're going to take with them. So, >> space food is space food. Yeah, we can >> um >> we can use the food that we have been using. You know, 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, um they do a really wonderful job out there. They've we've got different types of food. Um, you know, you can see I've got a this is a soup, tomato basil soup. So, thermal stabilized. 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 I have some shrimp cocktail here that's uh, >> you know, irradiated. So, it's >> in a package that protects it. Um, I'll show I've got a brownie, too. That's probably my favorite one. But, >> are we eating it? >> It's in We might if you're >> Yes. Look. See, they they want they want us to eat. I don't know what happened, but it worked out what we were saying here. So, it's in an outer package to help protect it against, you know, radiation and um and then it's in this inner package. And so, this cosmic brownie, actually, the trick and MLAN, my my crew mate, taught me the trick is you got to put this in the food warmer and get it nice and warm >> and then you can get it. But, um, so what we do is we just take scissors and you open it up and then it comes right out. So, uh, 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 fall. >> 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, pretty diverse for Orion. >> Nice. Yeah, that's amazing. Uh and again, here's a look at the crowd. Uh that's starting to uh continue to grow here as we get closer and closer to launch. We are now under an hour from the opening of our 2-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, or I'm going to steal it. >> Nicole, we have another celebrity who submitted a question. Let's take a look. >> Okay, >> a quick question uh for the Aremis crew. What food from Earth would you bring with you into space? And why would it be lasagna? >> Cuz that's the greatest food. >> Again, not really a question. Yeah, because he was like, "It's lasagna. >> It's got to be lasagna." You know, there is lasagna on space station and it wasn't too bad. Um probably not my favorite food of all, but um yeah, lasagna is not not a bad option. It's a high calorie meal. If you're trying to, you know, carb load for a spacew walk or something, it's a great it's a great option. Yeah, I remember Christina saying that her favorite food on the menu and actually um 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 brisket earlier. Man, I would put those two on a tortilla. That would be great. >> That sounds delicious. Delicious. Well, thank you so much everyone uh for sending in those questions. uh everyone from uh a 5-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 liftoff of Aremis 2. 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 space flight. I'm NASA's Megan Cruz and this is NASA astronaut Nicole Ays. 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. Uh exciting is an understatement, I think. you know, we uh we're going to see the far side of the moon for the first time by humans in a long time. Uh 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 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 gather 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 uh gathered there to show their kid. We see someone walking in the second row there. His first crude 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? Well, a lot. After waking up and grabbing a bite to eat, our Artemis 2 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 a 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 astro van 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 their 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. And now we are back live at the pad where the closeout crew is getting ready to leave the white room. They are now tethered uh Nicole because they are about to uh move some pieces that connect the Orion spacecraft to the white room. Correct. >> Yes. There's kind of a what I would call a shroud. You can see them working that there. So, um it is actually connected so that way the gap between the crew accessis arm and the crew module and well, I guess that's the L there uh is covered. Um but they're about to remove that so that the crew accessis arm is not connected to the rocket in any way so that it can retract uh here in the next few minutes. And for how we're looking with the launch countdown milestones, let's go to Daryl Nail in the launch control center. >> All right, thank you very much, Megan. And uh as you can see there the finishing touches as you've been talking about um to the last uh which brings me to that subject because um we currently are hearing the launch team is um working an issue that was reported out with the lass at least um there's an issue apparently with a battery on the lass. Um the engineer who uh is in charge of the launchboard system uh sits on console here reported that uh a temperature for one of the two last batteries is out of range and although it's not a constraint for launch right now uh it would be when that temperature is checked uh inside of t-minus 6 minutes which is inside of terminal count. So, uh, right now the team is working some troubleshooting on this issue. Um, going to follow, of course, along closely with what, uh, they learn, but again, um, a battery temp, uh, for one of the two batteries on the last is out of, uh, spec. And the team is, uh, working to understand, first of all, whether or not this may be a sensor issue, or is there an issue with the battery itself? So again, uh, looking into it, trouble shooting and researching, um, as we speak. With regards to the weather, we did did get some good news there. Launch weather officer Mark Burgerer 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 uh when we uh had the first weather forecast come out officially three days ago. Uh and so that uh that is great and for anybody who's here in the launch area knows um that is that is certainly uh viewable. They can see that by just looking up. Uh 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 uh 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 uh device, um you know, sometimes this this broadcast might be a little behind what you're actually seeing. So just keep that in mind uh as you uh are watching. Don't uh wait till 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 uh that last battery issue. Let's send it back now to Megan and Nicole at the host desk. two of them there had to be tethered um to the inside of the white uh the white room because obviously now we have detached the white room from the Orion spacecraft. >> Yes. Uh that view is quite something. >> Yeah. Spectacular. Yep. Yep. Oh no. I'm sorry. I forgot. Nicole is scared of heights. An astronaut afraid of heights is actually not uncommon as we've learned today. Uh but yes, so obviously again things proceeding uh uh as we march closer to the opening of our uh 2-hour launch window at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time. Again, uh the closeout crew uh just finishing up those last couple of things they have to do before leaving the white room and then leaving the pad, leaving only the four Artemis 2 crew members inside the spacecraft by themselves at the pad. >> Yeah. Yeah. And then we'll be curious to follow the battery issue on the last as well. I think uh sometimes it's just a sensor is 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 2 Commander Reed Wisman, 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 165day mission, Reed and his crew mates 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 uh 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 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 uh 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 2 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 November 2020, 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 since the end of the shuttle program. Victor is a US 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. So again, he probably feels pretty at home in the pilot seat of Artemis 2. >> Yeah, I think he does. >> He got to say uh goodbye uh to his wife uh and four kids. Um again, those were uh the family that he had here at uh Kennedy Space Center before the four of them drove out to the pad. >> Yeah. And you can see there, we talked about uh 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 uh ready to go, it 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 spacew walk. And before becoming an astronaut, Christina helped build space science instruments and led scientific fieldwork in some of the most remote environments on the planet. Her hobbies include surfing, rock climbing, community service, >> yoga, and photography. Go ahead, NCD. >> Those couple of uh suppressed overvolt messages. We're going to go ahead and clear those off your screen. >> We see them and we copy. >> All right. >> NASA test director. >> We're still working here trying to get uh get through everything. So, we're getting close and and then trying to talk that other issue that uh we p just picked up a little bit ago. But I think workwise we're doing really well. >> Sounds good, entity. We're doing great on board. I'm glad to hear it. >> NASA tech 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 mission specialist on the Artemis 2 mission. The London, Ontario native, 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 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 leftand corner of your screen. I know. I know. I'm trying to see what he's doing there. Christina's looking too. And so there is your Artemis 2 crew inside the Orion spacecraft. And this is actually the seventh time NASA astronauts will launch on a new NASA spacecraft designed for crew. And if you're wondering about the first six crude test flights, here they are. All systems are go. >> Gemini 3, Gus Gryom, John Young, March 23, 1965. >> Apollo 7, Wally Sherro, Don Eley, Walt Cunningham. October 11th, 1968. space transportition transportation system or STS1 John Young Robert Krippen April 12th 1981 then NASA's SpaceX Demo 2 Doug Hurley Bob Benin May 30th 2020 followed by NASA's Boeing crew flight test >> Butch Wilmore Sunny 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 uh new vehicle that we're testing for crew. >> Yeah, you know, we have so many different missions that we we think about and we talk about um but really seven vehicles that we've that we've tested and that we're flying. Uh, you know, I like to think of spaceflight really as an a permanent test, right? We we have, you know, hundreds of missions or so. You know, 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. Um, and I think it's important to remember that especially as we put humans on rockets that we never have before, uh, or for the seventh time we start a new vehicle and a 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 in 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 as we ride this amazing space launch system and 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.