Moment Nasa's historic Artemis II spacecraft launches | BBC News
NASA's Artemis II spacecraft successfully launched with its four-person crew bound for the moon. The launch proceeded nominally through all major milestones including booster separation, main engine cutoff, and core stage separation at 8 minutes 40 seconds into flight.
Summary
The transcript captures the live launch coverage of NASA's historic Artemis II mission, marking humanity's return to lunar missions with a crewed spacecraft called Integrity. The launch sequence proceeded flawlessly through all critical phases, beginning with the ignition of RS25 engines and solid rocket boosters. Within the first minute, the spacecraft went supersonic and passed through max Q (maximum dynamic pressure). At approximately 2 minutes, the solid rocket boosters separated as planned, followed by main engine throttle adjustments. By 3 minutes into flight, Integrity had reached 49 miles altitude and over 5,000 mph, successfully completing launch system jettison. The four crew members - Commander Reed Wiseman, Glover, Cook, and Hansen - officially crossed the boundary into space at 3 minutes 50 seconds, with Wiseman reporting visual contact with the moon. The mission continued through various system checks and trajectory confirmations, with GPS guidance systems coming online and multiple engine performance verifications. The final major milestone captured was the nominal main engine cutoff and core stage separation at 8 minutes 40 seconds, with the spacecraft on proper trajectory for its lunar mission.
Key Insights
- Commander Reed Wiseman confirmed visual contact with the moon destination, stating they had a beautiful moonrise and were headed right at it
- The four crew members Wiseman, Glover, Cook, and Hansen officially crossed the boundary to space with successful communication checks
- Mission control confirmed that only three good main engines were needed for nominal cutoff, though all four engines were performing well
- An abort once around option window opened at 7 minutes 30 seconds that would target splashdown in the Pacific Ocean if needed
- The spacecraft achieved nominal main engine cutoff and core stage separation at 8 minutes 40 seconds, confirming proper trajectory toward the moon
Topics
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