Four astronauts depart for the Moon with a fiery send-off from Cape Canaveral
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Very exciting! Wishing the astronauts a safe trip, and I can't wait to see the images they capture.
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I was born only months before Apollo 11. I cried watching it today. Got teary again just typing this.
While rockets of destruction fly across the Middle East, a rocket of hope and human spirit vaults off from this tiny blue planet into the vast expanse.
While rockets of destruction fly across the Middle East, a rocket of hope and human spirit vaults off from this tiny blue planet into the vast expanse.
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Watched the feed on and off from the beginning. Watch all the way through from about the 1hr mark to see it finally take off. Expensive tincan with annoyance but may their journey lead us to a better future to conquer the moon once more.
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Too bad the flag is obscuring that pic. I enjoyed the launch. As a member of GenX, I'm always a bit nervous during launches.
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Jeremy Hansen is a mission specialist on Artemis 2, but according to Ars his job is professional Canadian. 
So happy for this crew, hope they get back safe.
So happy for this crew, hope they get back safe.
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Yeah, why no rangefinder? Is that something else that is delayed or was that not in Orion’s design?
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Sounds like an apt comparison for the webcasts too. SpaceX has all the graphics and telemetry. NASA had... not much.
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Ars Legatus Legionis
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I really like the mix of physical controls, glass cockpit displays, and mechanical switches for critical functions on Orion.
The translation hand controller is the square in the upper right hand corner of each pilot station. The rotational hand controller is the joystick looking thing. the cursor controller is that thing to the left.
The translation hand controller is the square in the upper right hand corner of each pilot station. The rotational hand controller is the joystick looking thing. the cursor controller is that thing to the left.
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Anyone else have this come to mind when the (we can't say toilet) waste management issues cropped up?
View: https://youtu.be/BeskbiJjCXI?t=21
View: https://youtu.be/BeskbiJjCXI?t=21
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When Isaacman said that it's easier to be strapped to the rocket than watching, it reminded me of a similar line from Band of Brothers about how it was hard to spend the Battle of Bastogne at HQ. I didn't really understand that until COVID...
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How Americans display that flag and actually still feel pride or patriotism is beyond me. Must be Stockholm syndrome or something.
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I got teary-eyed reading your comment. This is nice. Nice things are nice.
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I've got a feeling that flag waving is a large reason why the mission got off the ground.
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If we're going to launch massive rockets with payloads far greater than any thermonuclear warhead, I feel like this is the best possible reason.
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It was a wonderful launch. It's awesome to see people come together and actually achieve something hopeful and aspirational.
I know the future of space travel is probably more with Starship or Falcon 9 (or immitators thereof), but I genuinely find NASA launches to be more inspirational than I do SpaceX. Despite the fact that SpaceX's streams are just so much more informational and useful and actually better at explaining what's going on, with better mission tracking info. But NASA appears to be learning. It's amusing to contrast.
In any case, good luck, and Godspeed to the astronauts. I will be looking forward to watching all the footage from this mission, and I wish them all the best. I hope many more follow in their footsteps.
from: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55182878409-d6c46a73a0-k.jpg
I know the future of space travel is probably more with Starship or Falcon 9 (or immitators thereof), but I genuinely find NASA launches to be more inspirational than I do SpaceX. Despite the fact that SpaceX's streams are just so much more informational and useful and actually better at explaining what's going on, with better mission tracking info. But NASA appears to be learning. It's amusing to contrast.
In any case, good luck, and Godspeed to the astronauts. I will be looking forward to watching all the footage from this mission, and I wish them all the best. I hope many more follow in their footsteps.
from: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/55182878409-d6c46a73a0-k.jpg
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Ars Legatus Legionis
You aren't going to like the answer.
This Orion is incomplete. It has no nose hatch, IDSS port, or docking tunnel. The rangefinder, actually a fancy 2D scanning LIDAR is in <drumroll> the docking tunnel. Artemis III will be the first "for real this time" everything included Orion. I mean for the low low price of a billy each you can't expect it to be complete can you?
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Also not recovered: the four RS-25 engines on the core stage, which borders on a criminal offense in my mind. Those engines are things of absolute beauty, and are reusable. But SLS decided to make them one-and-done. Of the four on this mission, I think three of them flew on a Shuttle mission, and one of them is a Frankenstein from leftover parts.
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So,...they might actually need Red Green, some duct tape, and a couple of old K-Cars?
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Ars Legatus Legionis
What I posted was a mockup for training and one that has been beat up for years. The final version in the capsule is more polished but due to the positioning it is hard to find photos that show the whole layout.
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With the caveat that my experience is confined to DCS and as a pilot I'm only just slightly ahead of Stevie Wonder in terms of safety, I can see why the pilot mentioned familiarity from the F/A-18 series. Those sticks and the vertical rectangular MFDs gave me some mild nostalgia for a simulator cockpit, I can only imagine how a real pilot would react.
(I would provide a photograph but google will only offer me several thousand screenshots of DCS modded cockpits)
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I was 13 when humans last walked on the moon; I didn’t foresee that I would be long retired before I saw it again!
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I assume the upper stage has some smaller thrusters or something to safely deorbit? Tell me NASA is practising good orbital hygiene and not just leaving it up there to decay over a random city?
Edit: Just saw this on a SpaceNews page so I think we’re all good:
“After the end of those tests, ICPS will perform a burn about five hours after liftoff to ensure it reenters over the Atlantic Ocean.”
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Fly well, fly safe, and send a wave Selene's way and a scratch behind the ears for Yutu from all of us here on Earth.
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Not quite, they've got a Mark I rangefinder named Hansen
It was good enough for Jim Lovell and Apollo 13
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Psht. Who even needs the extra mass?
If a handheld rangefinder was good enough for Savinykh and Dzhanibekov on Soyuz T-13, then it should be good enough for everyone!
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Thanks for clarifying the original photo source. I was thinking how the prominent use of "80/20" aluminum struts would make that company very proud, and also thinking it looks like a lab bench?
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Yeah, it should be really $100 bill. Or perhaps some bacon. Or both.
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