Today NASA is once again sending astronauts around the Moon for the first time in 50 years. NASA’s Artemis II mission is scheduled to lift off from Kennedy Space Center today. The two-hour launch window starts at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 UTC).
Livestream Links are Below:
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Four astronauts — three from NASA and one from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) — make up the Artemis II crew:
– NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander
– NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot
– NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist
– Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist
After launching into space atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the crew will journey around the Moon and back in their Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, on an approximately 10-day mission. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test of SLS and Orion, testing the technologies we’ll need for long-term lunar exploration and human missions to Mars.
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Woo hoo!
One of my most treasured photos is one of my son, walking across NASA grounds at Cape Canaveral, holding the hand (glove) of an ‘astronaut’ in full suit…circa 1988-90…son was a little guy, about 5…
My dad worked as a rocket scientist at NASA for 35 years. We saw one of the first Shuttle launches in the early 80s at Cape Canaveral. Dad was a humble dude, but I will never forget glancing over at him a few seconds after launch and seeing the sheer joy and pride on his face. This is a long time overdue.
I got to live that today. I’ve been at JSC for 40+ yrs. Today was the first one where I knew I should be proud. It helps to be a senior team leader though.
Your dad was probably also enjoying that you were there with him. We don’t get rich, get to go on exotic and luxurious vacations like our doctor neighbors do. But if we’re lucky, we do get to be part of something so big, so fantastic that you wonder how you got them to let you stay in the room with the smart kids.
Have no idea how many shuttle launches I’ve watched, they were a site to behold, some more than others.
The last one watched it beginning on TV then watched in sky as it came into view over trees.
Not sure if we can see this one as have not found the beginning of the flight path, find out here shortly.
I have witnessed a day Shuttle launch and a night Shuttle launch.
Wish I had seen this launch,
Stay tuned in to the livestream linked above
The launch is at 6:24 EDT just under an hour from now.
I’m about 100 mi SW as the crow flies.
I will go out and see if I can see anything.
“Artemis II will be visible in Port Charlotte about 35-40 seconds after liftoff. The exact visibility depends on weather conditions and the launch window.
I remember my dad waking me up early to watch the first shuttle launch. I was somewhat annoyed at the time, but I’m grateful now.
Night launch was incrediburgible!
The night turned to day,
Then the ground began to shake.
Then the SOUND!
I woke my 2 1/2 year old daughter in July of 1969 so she could see Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin step out onto the moon. She forgave me – last year! 😁
In July of 1969, my younger son took his first steps on earth the same day that Armstrong took his first steps on the moon. I was glued to our b/w Zenith in the San Fernando Valley – and later went out in our front yard and looked at the moon for a long time.
I got that for the first Apollo launch, and got pulled out of my front yard kickball game for the moon landing. I knew Gene Kranz and many of the “wheels” at JSC, but when you’re 9 yrs old, you don’t really understand it yet. But dad was right, I was going to want to say I saw it live, even if it was on that tiny B&W TV.
We’re going to the moon. Make sure you’re watching when we do it. It will be as big worldwide was it was last time.
REALLY? The moon?? HMMM?
I think they are just orbiting…however…I could think of a few that I would not mind sending on a one way trip…?
Bless me father for I have sinned…
Aggie
Bless me too then!
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/04/01/nasas-artemis-ii-launches-astronauts-to-circle-the-moon-and-return-600pm-et-livestream-launch/#comment-12501448
We’re running low on government cheese.
They’re going to slingshot around the moon and return without a full orbit. The distance they’ll go past the moon will put them further away from earth than anyone before.
Isaacman is morphing our work into the same strategy used for Apollo, where all focus is on the moon missions and each flight proves a capability needed for the next flight, all leading to readiness to land on the moon.
And in case you didn’t hear, we’re going to build a large moon base instead of a moon-orbiting space station. That has really got the work force and a lot of kids psyched.
Source: 40+ yrs at JSC as IT engineer, grew up in the shadows of MCC. Excitement is everywhere.
I’m with you they never went Bart Simbrells Something funny happened on the way to the moon. Catalogues all the phony baloney. Rockets headed out to sea 3 days later a boat picks them up.
In the ’60’s just getting there and back was the prize. 60 years later I’m pretty sure the moon is the prize. I feel it should be re-named, maybe Planet Trump. It would be the greatest planet, possibly the best ever, like you’ve never seen before…
“Planet Trump”…I like it!
Too funny 🤣
I have Lookner on in the background and one of the batteries temp is out of range.
Sounds like it’s still a go.
I have him on too as well as NASA..
Love it!
Trump Lunar hosts six, that’s right six world-class golf courses. Our 9,000 meter diameter transparent aluminum domes create a standard Earth night/day effect every 24 hours. Sporting three general admission domes, two VIP domes, and one dome that we don’t talk about, Trump Lunar offers anyone with access to the Trump Luna Orbital Space Station access to all our amazing amenities. We also cater to those who have NASA-level access tickets to the two 22 meter aluminum domes, along with our condolences upon dropoff.
I work at JSC, have for 40+ yrs. The moon is definitely the prize. Moon base design is already underway. And I am convinced Isaaman will get us there.
From what I’ve read, this visit to the moon will be more of a single, high altitude once around, as opposed to the multiple orbits made by the Apollo closer to the surface.
Different mission, different equipment, different parameters.
God’s Speed!
Interesting that the transit time is going to be slower than the original Apollo missions. Trading a bit of time for fuel efficiency and added mission capabilities.
Fuel efficiency is going to be a big one for more missions until they build a new propulsion system for a longer range missions like the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) prototyped in early 70’s.
You wouldn’t believe the hurdles that have to be jumped to launch a nuclear anything into earth orbit. I can only imagine what a nuclear propulsion system would entail. Guaranteed it will be chemical at least to LEO.
A reactor will need to be launched into orbit for a serious mission to Mars anyways. Literal acres of solar panels for power simply is not going to cut it for going to Mars and beyond.
If you do the math on the fuel it doesnt work then you have KRISPY ASTRONAUTS thru the Van Allen Belt.
Besides that God has a Firmament over the earth we can’t penetrate not even with nukes tried that in the early 60s
I still envy those astronauts getting a closer view of the moon than I ever will.
Same results
Maybe one day man will walk on the moon.
Funny how 60 years later, a simple lunar orbiting is a big deal. Usually over time we get better at things.
Yea yea, I know we haven’t been in a while, but think about the difference between our tech now and then. And back then they did it pretty frequently.
Something seems amiss. At least in my mind.
Yep. This will be interesting.
Pretty frequently? We did it a total of six times with what today would have been hundreds of billions of dollars and a decade of the smartest people on earth working the problem with no expense barred. It was amazing, it was brief each time, and came with diminishing returns due to the hardware constraints baked into Apollo.
Though Apollo 13 in many respects was considered a failure, I remember being glued to the TV watching their dramatic return to earth following a devasting rupture in a fuel tank. American ingenuity, courage, perseverance, and serenity under fire were showcased to the world. I was so proud of that crew:
Commander James A. Lovell, Jr. who passed in Aug. of 2025 at 97y/o
Command Module Pilot John Swigert, Jr. who passed in Dec. Of 1982 at age 51
Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise, Jr. thankfully still with us.
Comparatively speaking, yes.
…with a big ship on a launch pad..
another
” small step for man
and a big step for mankind…”
( the steps to getting to Mars
– build a moon base
– launch trip to Mars )
– quote credit to astronaut Neil Armstrong July 1969
Love thy neighbors
I’m watching on my ROKU (the NASA channel) crisp and clear.
Thanks for the tip.
If it were me, I would have first sent an automated spacecraft stuffed with radiation sensors.
We did better than that. We sent several maned spacecraft 50 years ago.
They are doing extensive radiation shielding testing on this mission.
I would have sent the actual spacecraft on a purely-robotic test mission first. “Fifty years ago” is too long. But, that’s just me. Bon voyage!
Orion’s first test flight, Exploration Flight Test-1 or EFT-1, and Artemis 1 did just that.
EFT-1 reached an altitude (apogee) of approximately 3,600 miles (5,800 kms) above Earth and Artemis 1 made two orbits of the Moon.
Give the same money to Musk and we would already have a Hard Rock – moon.
But if it wasn’t for NASA there wouldn’t be a Musk.
dei orion?
Flawed performance.
And I kept my mouth shut even tho I thought it !
I wonder if PDJT had anything to do with the color of the rocket being gold.😉
“Golden Age”…just wish my wallet reflected that idea…
Its really orange like the old shuttle fuel tanks.
Maybe that’ll pissoff the commiecrats…Orange Man Great!
natural iron metal
A paint job would add weight to the ship.
Watching the moon landing when I was 9, I thought when I became my grandparents age trips to the moon and mars would be a common thing.
Me too. What I didn’t know then was just how incompetent and inefficient government is at…..everything.
I sure know it now.
Met my future wife two weeks before that first moon landing! Never thinking we’d be great grandparents one day, but we are! We’ve watched many a launch, but night launches RULE! Always praying that each manned flight is successful. Did see the Challenger disaster from a frigid beach. Wasn’t ready for that one. Hard to not tear up each launch. So proud of our country!
Canadian Space Agency? I didn’t know they had one of those.
Quite an active one really. Heavily involved with the Space Station and the manipulator arm on both the shuttle and space station were CSA devices.
CASA….
God bless these brave explorers.
Also on RSBN
https://www.rsbnetwork.com/news/live-the-artemis-2-launches-for-its-10-day-high-lunar-mission-02-05-26/
Website shows today’s date. Don’t know where the Feb date comes from…
LIVE: Artemis II Launches Astronauts on a 10-Day Flight Around the Moon – 04/01/26
I hope I’m still alive when we start traveling to Mars because I’m putting an all-in-one convenience store on the moon. “Last stop before Mars”.
Bucees….with signs telling you how far away you are…
I just said to my wife… I should have added, unless Bucees beats me to it. lol
Burma Shave!
Well done! Was thinking the same exact thing! 🙂
Best bathrooms in the solar system.
James Bond 71 Moon
Maybe they will use a land line and talk to the President? Aka Nixon….🤔
First manned flight of this craft.
God speed!
So…..let’s ask KJB if these astronauts will become citizens of the moon tonight. Under the moon’s jurisdiction with allegiance to moon’s laws.
Don’t, she’d probably say ‘yes’….and there is not way to do elections up there yet…the post office has not perfected a mail module…
And….cheating on the moon would require a lot of Demonrat astronauts!
(said with a lack of gravity)
Does anyone know, Are they going to enter orbit around the moon? That requires a retrofire behind the moon to slow them into lunar orbit. And a later burn behind the moon to accelerate out of orbit and return to earth. It says 10 days, and from my recollection of 50 years ago, it’s about 3 day’s journey each way, which suggests lunar orbit.
Got my own answer. NO. They will not orbit the moon. BUT they are taking a much longer trajectory behind the moon, and hence will get a good look from afar of the back of the moon, presumably showing the earth as well. Hence, the 10 days.
Going that far behind the moon will make them the most distant humans from Earth ever. That detail is pretty cool.
Wernher von Braun’s tombstone.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork”
Psalm 19:1
I can’t wait for the LIVE camera views of the earth during the journey.
They should be all super 4K HD since the technology has now advanced so much since the 70’s when they showed us LIVE views from the moon.
I hope they give President Trump a call from a cell phone to the RED phone on his desk in the White House like they did with President Nixon.
I would hope NASA could afford and 8K camcorder from amazon for 149. /s
I would assume there is a higher resolution now above 8K tho.
Actually, von Braun’s gravestone only states ‘Psalm 19:1’ with NO verse. There are infact many variations on how Psalm 19:1 can be translated, the most common being, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”
Remember Sheila Jackson Lee (D) from Houston asked one of the astronauts if they were the one that planted the flag on Mars?
She was somehow assigned to the committee overseeing space (perhaps due to her spacey demeanor) and was watching the Mars Rover livestream.
She asked if they could drive it to where the astronauts had landed…..
That’s it.
Thanks
I was because of the space between her ears. 🤓
The correct answer would have been. “No ma’am. I’m the one that planted the lemon tree, on Giedi Prime.”
No Snow Mexicans allowed
Boot him back to Canada or charge the Canadian government billions for his ticket.
Got 3 DEIs on board
“Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test of SLS and Orion, testing the technologies we’ll need for long-term lunar exploration and human missions to Mars.”
We are not suppose to up there. However, that has not stopped man from doing other things he is not suppose to be doing.
The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. – Psalm 115:16
Ten minute countdown has begun.
Seems like we’re in a planned hold at T- 10 Min.
All Go.
Count resumes as I post
President Trump:
“Tonight at 6:24 P.M. EST, for the first time in over 50 YEARS, America is going back to the Moon!
Artemis II, among the most powerful rockets ever built, is launching our Brave Astronauts farther into Deep Space than any human has EVER gone. We are WINNING, in Space, on Earth, and everywhere in between — Economically, Militarily, and now, BEYOND THE STARS.
Nobody comes close!
America doesn’t just compete, we DOMINATE, and the whole World is watching.
God bless our incredible Astronauts, God bless NASA, and God bless the Greatest Nation ever to exist, the United States of America!
President DONALD J. TRUMP”
video: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116330778720988222
God bless America
Got to see it!!
Not I said the Mike. 🙁
Got videos from St. Lucie…woo hoo!
Big and bright for 30 seconds…
GOD SPEED EXPLORERS!
Praying for your safety and success!
I love this. It was moving in a way. I didn’t expect to watch that rocket takeoff. And I love it, President Trump is sending us back to the moon. A terrific call back to the height of American Post war power.
And while we are celebrating, Europe is falling apart in the UK is crumbling. Contrast could not be more stark.
Helium 3 for future fusion reactors.
How much in the lunar regolith? We’ll find out.
In the future scooping it out of Jupiter’s atmosphere might be economically viable.
We will need major advancements in propulsion technology since currently it would take well over a year to get to Jupiter, depending on the specific trajectory.
A proven nuclear thermal rocket engine design will make further developments and refinement much more feasible for faster travel.
But it has to be built first and then have opportunities for practical demonstration. Like with more routine orbital transfers between Earth and the moon.
Dear God, protect these 4 brave souls as they venture out into your vast creation, and see their safe return to home. 🙏🏻
One giant leap for mankind. Our 2nd step 57 years later.
Godspeed!
Happy Passover. Same time as launch.
Does this mean NASA is no longer working on Muslim Outreach ? /s. Obama, what a jerk.
I could actually see & filmed it– shortly after launch. Granted I’m a few hours away… but still very cool to see right outside my lanai!
Thank you Sundance!
What a sight, another historic event we get to witness!
Brought back memories of childhood watching the first landing.
Thank God all went well with the launch.
💥🇺🇸🦅✝️
I watched the Artemis launch live. The camera work of Space X launches is far superior to the often disjointed and jumpy views given us by NASA. Fortunately, the camera men are not controlling the mission!
Camera work……
Exciting for sure
But nothing will ever top what was accomplished from the late 50’s to early 70’s.
Limited knowledge. Limited technology
Peak American greatness
William Shatner is sort of annoying me because I have way to much respect for him to make the Canadians in space joke I REALLY want to make.
As a kid, those Gemini and Apollo astronauts were my heroes.
I tried to watch every launch.
I even dreamed of being a “space man”.
That said..
If God had intended us to strive for the moon.. , He would have put Eve there and made the place beautiful.
According to Armstrong the view of Earth from the moon is one of the most beautiful and humbling things he’d ever witnessed.
If God did not wish us to reach for the stars He would never have given us the curiosity and intellect to get there.
Over 200 billion stars in our galaxy alone amidst an ocean of trillions of galaxies in the observable universe. And yet, the universe is vaster still beyond the cosmic horizon.
I can only imagine the wonders that await out there
Imagine is all we will ever do. Even travel to Alpha Centauri is far beyond our capabilities.
At the fastest speed our space probes have achieved, it would be a 6,600 year trip. One way.
Watched it live in Cocoa Beach. Gosh, you’ve never seen so many people. Crazy. #snowglobe
Can’t figure out how to attach links or video on this forum from an iPad have asked via email to admin and no reply 🤷🏻♂️ frustrating delete if needed.
When you have your web browser open and you are watching the video that you want to share – you can highlight the web address in your web browser search bar – or if using YouTube you can click on the arrow that reads “Share” and copy the link. Open a dialogue box here, like you did when you posted, and right click your mouse and paste the link herein. Make a carriage return afterward on your text and your shared video or link should import properly for sharing.
Hope that’s helpful.
That was awesome! It’s been over 50 years. I watched all the Apollo moon missions. Now my daughter and grandsons watched Artemis II live. I would love to see it in person. Everyone on the beach was so excited. I loved how the kids wanted to become astronauts. Very inspiring.
The sight is great, the vibration that goes through your body you’ll never forget.