Artemis II

[Slim]

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Looking like it might not happen tonight.

But actually while I will follow this with interest if/when it happens, I'm a bit underwhelmed by it. I'd originally thought this was going to be a sort of 21st century Apollo 8, with the astronauts orbiting the Moon. But it's just a flyby, a slingshot.

At the same time the astronauts will have gone a bit further than any human has ever been before from Earth. But that doesn't really feel like a big deal compared to the accomplishments of Apollo.

[Fishy]

Appears to be back on track..the termination system was the on that auto explodes the rocket if it's gone out of control and is heading for a populated location... yikes!!

[Fishy]

Nasa confirmed that the solution they were testing using old hardware from the previous Space Shuttle programme has got the termination system working.    Blimey.. never chuck out an old PC

[The Picnic Wasp]

Highslide Image Viewer

Looking like it might not happen tonight.

But actually while I will follow this with interest if/when it happens, I'm a bit underwhelmed by it. I'd originally thought this was going to be a sort of 21st century Apollo 8, with the astronauts orbiting the Moon. But it's just a flyby, a slingshot.

At the same time the astronauts will have gone a bit further than any human has ever been before from Earth. But that doesn't really feel like  big deal compared to the accomplishments of Apollo.

I'm glad of this to remind myself of what America was to me when I was young and not run by a basket case. The people at NASA must be disgusted when he claims any credit for their ingenuity and bravery.

[Slim]

I'm watching the NASA feed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrW3wwlcS6Q

The BBC News live stream is 41 seconds behind.

[Matt2112]

Always exciting to watch a crewed rocket launch live; shame the footage was a bit botched.

[Matt2112]

The "AROW" (Artemis Real-time Orbit Website) mission tracking visualiser on the NASA app is very good indeed.

[Slim]

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I must say this looks like a wild adventure, living in a box nearly 250,000 km from Earth. Looks a bit more comfy and spacious than the old Apollo Command Module and the flight clothing looks a bit more casual. Proper toilet, as well.

[Slim]

Here's an odd thought - since there is currently no up or down in there, this image is as valid a representation of the interior at that moment as the last one. The guy on the left didn't feel like he was lying on his side any more than the other three.

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[Fishy]

i never realised they would lose comms... blimey..


No-one will have been further from home than the Artemis astronauts.

But as the Earth shrinks ever smaller in their rear-view mirror, they've had a constant connection with mission control in Houston, Texas. The calm words from the Nasa team have given the crew a comforting link with home.

That link is about to be lost.

As the astronauts pass behind the Moon at about 23:47 BST (18:47 EDT) on Monday, the radio and laser signals that allow the back-and-forth communication between the spacecraft and Earth will be blocked by the Moon itself.

For about 40 minutes, the four astronauts will be alone, each with their own thoughts and feelings, travelling through the darkness of space. A profound moment of solitude and silence.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Why are they the furthest away from Earth that humans have reached? Is it because their orbit of the moon is higher than the Apollo missions?

Michael Collins' comms were cut off during the moon landing when he was described as the "loneliest man in the universe".

I'm guessing it's just down to the capsule's trajectory or height.

[David L]

i never realised they would lose comms... blimey..


No-one will have been further from home than the Artemis astronauts.

But as the Earth shrinks ever smaller in their rear-view mirror, they've had a constant connection with mission control in Houston, Texas. The calm words from the Nasa team have given the crew a comforting link with home.

That link is about to be lost.

As the astronauts pass behind the Moon at about 23:47 BST (18:47 EDT) on Monday, the radio and laser signals that allow the back-and-forth communication between the spacecraft and Earth will be blocked by the Moon itself.

For about 40 minutes, the four astronauts will be alone, each with their own thoughts and feelings, travelling through the darkness of space. A profound moment of solitude and silence.

I'd like to think they might put some Gary Glitter on the stereo and watch some Chubby Brown on their telly 

[Nickslikk2112]

Why are they the furthest away from Earth that humans have reached? Is it because their orbit of the moon is higher than the Apollo missions?

it's being done to give them a nice gravitational slingshot back to Earth, they're not going into Lunar orbit, so it gives them a freebie boost back.

[Slim]

So yes, the reason that they're further from Earth than any of the Apollo astronauts is that the pass round the Moon is at a much higher lunar altitude (more than 6,000 km) than the Apollo orbits (typically ~110 km).

The way I look at it is that the Apollo astronauts got a lot closer to the Moon. But going round the Dark Side is an achievement I suppose.

[dom]

Highslide Image Viewer

Looking like it might not happen tonight.

But actually while I will follow this with interest if/when it happens, I'm a bit underwhelmed by it. I'd originally thought this was going to be a sort of 21st century Apollo 8, with the astronauts orbiting the Moon. But it's just a flyby, a slingshot.

At the same time the astronauts will have gone a bit further than any human has ever been before from Earth. But that doesn't really feel like  big deal compared to the accomplishments of Apollo.

I'm glad of this to remind myself of what America was to me when I was young and not run by a basket case. The people at NASA must be disgusted when he claims any credit for their ingenuity and bravery.

It's mad isn't that at the time of the Apollo launches only the most powerful countries were capable of having the financial resources capable of Space missions.

Now there are 3 individuals (and probably plenty of others who could but choose not to) with enough disposable income to be able to use Space as a playground!