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Artemis II Launch Day Updates

nasa.gov

11–20 of 1001 posts

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#11
post #5

It's been 54 years since humans last visited the Moon. Hopefully, in a few years we will get boots back on the surface.

Hopefully, in a few years we will figure out that hydrogen rockets can not reliably launch on time and we'll switch to less leaky fuels. Then maybe we won't need to pull 40 year old engines out of museums to dump in the ocean.

I'm all for human spaceflight, but the Senate Launch System seems the best argument for shutting down human spaceflight programs.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#12
post #9
post #7

Even though you could question the whole Artemis concept, it's still extremely exciting watching the countdown with my son. I just missed the original Apollo flights and had assumed I would never see a moon landing in my lifetime. We may well not have a landing for quite some time yet, but it's still cool to see a Moon bound rocket standing on the launchpad...

We lived ~60 miles North of the Cape when I was a young boy, and watching the Saturn V's go on the way to the moon was a forming experience.

I lived in Port Orange FL until i was 12, during night launches my dad would take the family to New Smyrna Beach or some where a short drive South where we watched the shuttles come up over the water somehow. I can't remember the details it was a lonnnng time ago haha. I do remember the launches sounding like popcorn popping.

I live in Dallas now and will be turning 50 soon, i want to catch the next Starship launch live but would have to time it perfectly to get time off of work ahead of time.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#13
This opinion may be unpopular here but it's hard to get excited about a colossal waste of taxpayer money after all the damage DOGE did. I don't understand how these NASA missions with questionable scientific value and obscene budgets get off the ground.

I mean I do understand, NASA funding is important to oligarchs. But still.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#14

Direct livestream link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf_UjBMIzNo

I tuned in for 60 seconds, the presenter got everything wrong, and I just tuned out until liftoff. She called the top of the ET (well, it's no longer an ET, but it's the stage that was the STS ET) the "upper stage". She said that the propellents are stored at thousands of degrees below zero. And so on. This is a NASA presenter?

i'm sure the whole talk track was piped through an AI for clarity and excitement and the presenters were told to read the script.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#16
post #5

It's been 54 years since humans last visited the Moon. Hopefully, in a few years we will get boots back on the surface.

Out of curiosity, why do you see this as a worthwhile endeavor? My personal perspective is that the resources are better used for other purposes, but it's possible that I just haven't encountered some compelling reason yet.

The moonshot is a halo program that, when executed in a non-profit form, ends up benefiting society as a whole due to smart people being cornered and forced to solve hard problems that typically have applicability elsewhere on Earth.

Edit: remember the Kennedy speech — We choose to go to the moon not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#18
post #4
post #3

[flagged]

polymarket or gtfo :)

My opinion is 60/40 in favor of launch today. It's not unusual at all for something to come up in the final 10-30 minutes.

Kalshi is more optimistic. https://kalshi.com/markets/kxartemisii/artemis-ii-launch-dat...

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#19

Direct livestream link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf_UjBMIzNo

I tuned in for 60 seconds, the presenter got everything wrong, and I just tuned out until liftoff. She called the top of the ET (well, it's no longer an ET, but it's the stage that was the STS ET) the "upper stage". She said that the propellents are stored at thousands of degrees below zero. And so on. This is a NASA presenter?

You are not the target audience for this sort of presentation. Media directed at the laity is more about being directionally than quantifiably correct, and is full of metaphor and embellishment to capture the imagination rather than communicate something with precision.

People who want the actual details and numbers will read.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#20
post #5

It's been 54 years since humans last visited the Moon. Hopefully, in a few years we will get boots back on the surface.

Out of curiosity, why do you see this as a worthwhile endeavor? My personal perspective is that the resources are better used for other purposes, but it's possible that I just haven't encountered some compelling reason yet.

> Out of curiosity, why do you see this as a worthwhile endeavor?

to me it's inspiring and gives people something to cheer for. It also keeps a lot of people employed, productive, and at least has the possibility for new innovation. When looking at the mountains and mountains of wasted taxpayer dollars I dislike these the least.

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