NASA Launches 10-Day Lunar Flyby Mission as Part of Artemis II Program

The workday for the Artemis II team began long before they arrived at the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At 7:33 AM (14:33 Kyiv time), launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson approved the fueling of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with 700,000 gallons of supercooled liquid oxygen and hydrogen. Prior to this, the atmospheric air in the rocket's cavities was replaced with gaseous nitrogen to displace oxygen and moisture, thereby reducing the risk of fire.

As the rocket was being fueled, at 9:25 AM (16:25 Kyiv time), the Artemis II crew awoke — NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The astronauts received a weather briefing, which at that time was favorable at 80%, and donned their orange Orion Crew Survival System suits, designed with enhanced thermal regulation, a fire-resistant outer layer, and gloves compatible with touch screens.

In keeping with tradition, the crew played cards before heading out, symbolically aiming to 'burn' any bad luck before their flight. Upon arriving at Launch Complex 39B, the astronauts proceeded to the White Room — a sterile area before entering the spacecraft. Here, they were assisted in donning their helmets, checking their suits for pressure leaks, and taking their seats in the Orion spacecraft, positioned atop the rocket.

The final hours leading up to the launch raised some concerns among NASA's technical staff. Closing the spacecraft hatch proved challenging, as even a single hair could compromise the cabin's integrity. Engineers utilized a special balancing mechanism with springs and dampers to evenly distribute the weight of the hatch and avoid overloading the hinges, followed by pressure drop tests. Later, a sensor for the emergency rescue system registered an unusually high temperature reading, but specialists quickly determined it was merely a measurement error.

As weather conditions improved to 90%, the team unanimously voted to continue the countdown. At 6:25 PM (01:25 Kyiv time), ground launch sequencers took over, automatically switching power to the spacecraft's internal batteries, creating working pressure in the tanks, and conducting final checks on thousands of sensors, preparing the RS-25 engines for launch.

At 6:35 PM (01:35 Kyiv time), the SLS rocket with Orion and four astronauts on board finally lifted off. The launch was extraordinarily powerful: two solid rocket boosters, along with four main RS-25 engines, produced 8.8 million pounds of thrust. Shedding power and data cables, the over 2.5-ton rocket became fully autonomous, and at 6:37 PM (01:37 Kyiv time), the side boosters successfully detached.

The spacecraft, named Integrity, overcame the densest layers of the atmosphere, after which the need for protective panels and the emergency rescue system was eliminated, both of which were also successfully jettisoned. The first major propulsion phase of the mission concluded at 6:43 PM (01:43 Kyiv time), when the main stage of the rocket shut down its engines and separated from the Orion spacecraft and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS).

Shortly thereafter, the spacecraft deployed four solar array wings, which have a total span of about 19 meters. This allowed 60,000 solar cells, capable of rotating to follow the Sun, to begin generating energy for life support systems. Orbital adjustments then commenced: the RL10 engine successfully raised the perigee of the spacecraft's orbit. However, a temporary failure occurred — Earth lost telemetry and communication with the crew. Fortunately, the issue was quickly resolved, and the astronauts confirmed they had been in constant contact with mission control.

At 9:00 PM (04:00 Kyiv time), another engine burn took place to raise the apogee — the highest point of the spacecraft's orbit. Integrity was finally ready for a 23.5-hour systems check. Meanwhile, the crew began to set up their living quarters, but their introduction to the space toilet did not go as planned. Mission specialist Christina Koch reported that the toilet fan had jammed, which was unfortunate news for the astronauts, as the toilet is perhaps the only private space for the four individuals over the next 10 days.

The crew could still manage their needs, but for the smaller ones, they had to resort to a backup plan. While engineers sought a solution, the astronauts retrieved spare foldable urine bags. Fortunately, after several hours of step-by-step guidance from mission control, Koch was able to fix the temperamental equipment by midnight. By this point, one backup bag had already been filled, and the astronauts were separately informed when it should be disposed of in the vacuum of space.

The highlight of the first day was a 70-minute demonstration of manual control. Before the maneuvers, communication with the spacecraft was systematically switched from the near-Earth network to the Deep Space Network. Orion automatically rotated 180 degrees to face the target and stopped about 90 meters away. The astronauts then took control, expertly maneuvering the spacecraft to within 9 meters of a 60-centimeter target.