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Artemis II Launch Day Updates

nasa.gov

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Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#581

Post by Gagarin1917 »

matthewmcg wrote: post #462
GaryBluto wrote: post #450

It is very disconcerting to see so many completely disregarding incredible technological innovation because other problems exist, especially on HN. If we were not allowed to progress technology until everybody is 100% free of suffering, we'd never be able to create technological that may potentially lead to the alleviation of suffering. It all feels very crabs in a bucket - "I don't feel happy so nobody else should,…

It’s interesting to compare to Apollo 8 (circumlunar Apollo mission). That mission culminated a year that saw escalation of the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

The Apollo 8 book I read once ended with a letter to NASA thanking them and saying “You saved 1968.”

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#582

Post by KennyBlanken »

dingaling wrote: post #482
GaryBluto wrote: post #450

It is very disconcerting to see so many completely disregarding incredible technological innovation because other problems exist, especially on HN. If we were not allowed to progress technology until everybody is 100% free of suffering, we'd never be able to create technological that may potentially lead to the alleviation of suffering. It all feels very crabs in a bucket - "I don't feel happy so nobody else should,…

There is no technological innovation in the Artemis stack. Three of the main engines are refurbished Shuttle engines. The fourth is a clone that cost more than the entire SpaceX Starship stack. The boosters are derived from the Shuttle SRBs. It's a late-60s technology rocket stack with a 2000s-era flight computer. It's such a travesty.

The Artemis was a pork barrel project to feed federal tax money to all the states that had huge space shuttle contracts.

That and NASA is pathologically terrified of anything resembling innovation.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#583

Post by MarkusWandel »

areoform wrote: post #228
teraflop wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does any of that matter for this mission, which will not be landing on the moon?

Because many small steps are required before every giant leap. I would like to point out that the current misadventure in the ME has cost at least $38,035,856,006 in 32 days. And that won't receive half of the "this is a waste of money" critiques this mission will. And there are a ton of people who are against that excursion. Most people who will come across this will react with either extreme negativity or indiffere…

When I see numbers like that ($38 billion) thrown around I always wonder: Where did that money go? In the best case, it stayed in the economy in the form of salaries and such. In the worst case, it goes directly into an offshore pile of mega-wealth where it won't benefit the economy and likely won't even be taxed. Is there any way to determine where on this continuum this program stands? I'm guessing the 1960s space program, while incredibly expensive, was firmly on the "money stays in the economy" side.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#584

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

lapcat wrote: post #267
TeMPOraL wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody it'll say space exploration will alone solve those problems. But it helps, and can help more - much more, if we go all the way in and establish permanent economic activity and eventually settlements in the space near Earth and beyond.

> if we go all the way in and establish permanent economic activity and eventually settlements in the space near Earth and beyond. Could you please explain exactly how these would help to stop war and inequality? As far as I can tell, space exploration is going to exacerbate inequality, for example, by making Elon Musk even more obscenely wealthy than he already is.

That's part of a general meme shift. 60s tech was defined by a mix of fear, awe, and optimism. Apollo had elements of all three.

There was a confidence underlying all of them. From the New Deal to the late 60s, there was a public belief a better future was possible.

2020s tech is defined by fear, pessimism, and dystopia. The utopian edge has either gone or been replaced by horrific anti-utopian tech - surveillance, manipulation, exploitation, and irrationality.

Tech has become anti-science. Musk's DOGE cut around $1.5 of science funding, science education, and NASA exploration.

The naive sense that a better future is possible, and tech will make it happen, has almost disappeared.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#585

Post by [deleted] »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #509
mulmen wrote: post #478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This mission is Artemis II. Is Artemis III the one with a lander?

> Is Artemis III the one with a lander? Not anymore. Artemis III is now a LEO systems check [1]. Comparable to Apollo 9. (Side note: when did we switch from Arabic to Roman numerals?) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_III

[deleted]

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#586

Post by heavyset_go »

nirav72 wrote: post #578
KennyBlanken wrote: post #571

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> our ability to even execute something like this must be built again Why? Because "dreams"? "Reach for the stars"? You know what I remember from the shuttle launches as a kid? I remember my school not being able to afford textbooks but apparently we had enough to spend billions on putting people in space for no reason.

Do you honestly believe that by repurposing money from missions like these would suddenly free up money for text books? That’s not how it works. Especially not in 2026.

I don't see them insinuating that, just that it certainly raises a question about what we value and how we allocate resources.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#587

Post by rglover »

jgord wrote: post #208

Regardless of whether this particular mission is perfectly planned, this is precisely the kind of thing that will help humanity outgrow the dark age of war, inequality and climate mismanagement. It is a noble endeavor - science, engineering and peaceful exploration hold the keys to our survival and prosperity. It is also important psychologically to our survival - a reminder there is a bigger pie, that we can solve h…

Well said. I'd be lying if I didn't get that little flutter inside watching the launch. It felt like "oh, there's still a flicker in the soul!"

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#588

Post by sqircles »

I'm having trouble finding a simple tracker of whereabouts the craft is at in terms of the path to the moon? Might just be me but the fancy 3-d rendering thing on the NASA page just shows me a close-up of the craft and not much else?

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#589

Post by dylan604 »

throwatdem12311 wrote: post #576
jgord wrote: post #208

Regardless of whether this particular mission is perfectly planned, this is precisely the kind of thing that will help humanity outgrow the dark age of war, inequality and climate mismanagement. It is a noble endeavor - science, engineering and peaceful exploration hold the keys to our survival and prosperity. It is also important psychologically to our survival - a reminder there is a bigger pie, that we can solve h…

> this is precisely the kind of thing that will help humanity outgrow the dark age of war Just a reminder that even the Utopia of the 23rd century and beyond envisioned by Gene Roddenberry for Star Trek - the Federation and Starfleet are still at their core military institutions. Even war was very much still a thing in his utopic vision, despite the fact that scarcity basically no longer exists so what hell was every…

Wasn't war on Earth not the issue but war with other species in the galaxy the issue? Sure, there were some sympathizers trying to sabotage peace, but that's because they wanted to continue warring.

Re: Artemis II Launch Day Updates

#590

Post by JumpCrisscross »

dylan604 wrote: post #580
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #501

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is no technological innovation in the Artemis stack Scaling is still engineering. And the environmental control system, laser-optical communication systems and block-construction heat shields are new. For Artemis III, in-obit propellant transfer will be new and transformational.

> in-obit propellant transfer I'm hoping they can do it in-orbit. We've had enough NASA obits

Hehe. Obits to be avoided in obisular orbits.
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