The Artemis
two mission is a test mission of the Orion space capsule.
Artemis two will be the first time
we put humans on this rocket.
We're going back to the moon because it's the next step
in our journey to Mars.
We were always going to the moon.
Pushing ourselves to explore is just core to who we are.
That's a part of being a human.
And lift up.
We shall return.
Continuing to test out every bit of Orion.
Coming back to Earth.
Seven miles. Seven miles.
When humanity sets big goals, we can bring together
genius from around the world.
You have the best people
on planet Earth putting this vehicle together.
That's what's up.
To innovate for the benefit of humanity
and to inspire the world through discovery. And here we go.
Good morning.
From Firing room
one at NASA's Kennedy Launch Control Center in Florida.
You're looking at a live view of Launch Complex 39 B,
or the SLS or Space Launch System rocket and Orion
spacecraft are getting ready to lift off in a little over
ten hours for the agency's Artemis two mission.
I'm Antonia Jaramillo.
with NASA communications
and I, along with my fellow commentators,
will take you through today's launch countdown
and the rest of this historic mission,
NASA will be providing 24-7 live coverage,
starting with our propellant loading operations,
and will continue
throughout the course of this ten day mission.
Now, our Artemis launch director, Charlie Blackwell
Thompson, gave the go to proceed with cryogenic propellant.
Loading at 7:33 a.m.
Eastern time this morning, which means pretty soon,
teams will start fueling the rocket with cryogenic
or super cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
You can see on your screen there is a view of
firing room one.
That is where the Artemis
launch team is currently on console and is getting ready
to launch the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.
Now, Artemis
two is NASA's first crewed Artemis mission.
This test flight will send NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman,
Victor Glover, Christina
Cook and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen
on a ten day mission around the moon and back.
Now, the countdown for this mission started
on Monday, March 30th at 4:44 p.m.
Eastern time.
One thing to note about the countdown clock
that you see on your upper left
hand side of your screen there is.
You're going to hear us refer to what are called
L minus times and T minus times.
Now, the reason we have these two different references
for the countdown
clock is because the L refers to how much time is left
until the opening of our launch window, or until launch.
Think of it like the regular time that you see on your clock.
Always constantly ticking down.
The T clock, however, is specific
to the actual countdown.
Similarly to when watching a sporting games event,
when you see the clock on the screen, stop
when the referee blows a whistle, for instance.
The same thing can happen with our t clock.
And the reason that is, is because the launch team
has inserted specific built in hold throughout the countdown.
Now, these built in
holds are pauses that the team has intentionally inserted
in the countdown to provide them with some extra wiggle room
or some cushion to to again, just be able to go
through all of their operations continue.
Making sure that everything is on track to be able
to meet the opening of that launch window.
And also, if they run into any issues throughout the countdown.
This also provides them that extra time to be able
to resolve them and still make again
that opening of that launch window.
Now let's talk about today's launch window.
The launch window is two hours long.
It opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern time this evening.
Now, what does that mean?
A two hour launch window.
It means that the launch team
has two hours in which they can launch.
Launch today's Artemis two mission.
So if we don't go right at 6:24 p.m., that is okay.
So again,
to quickly recap, our launch director gave the go
to start our cryogenic propellant loading operations.
That means right now, the Artemis
launch team is currently in what is called the chilled down
phase for the SLS core stage rocket.
Now, the core stage is the first stage of the SLS rocket.
It is the orange section in between the two solid
rocket boosters that you see there on your screen.
Now Chill down basically refers that we are going to be
cooling down all the systems and lines that are
that will be feeding this propellant inside the rocket.
The reason we chilled down these lines is because we are
feeding cryogenic or again, super cold
propellant on board liquid hydrogen.
To remain in a liquid state needs to be -423°F.
On the oxygen side, it's -297°F.
So very, very cold temperatures.
Because of this,
we then cooled down these lines so that they don't
so that we aren't
shocking the system we are in, causing
any potential damage to the hardware.
And they're able to receive these super cold propellants
smoothly and without issues.
So again, we are currently in chill down
for both the core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks
following chill down.
The teams will then start what is called slow fill.
This will officially mark the start of propellant loading.
That means that we will
actually start loading that liquid propellant on board
the rocket.
Now, as the name suggests, slow fill basically refers
to slowly start to load that propellant.
The reasons they do this is because the teams are
wanting to closely monitor
that there isn't any leaks or any issues.
When we are starting our propellant loading operations.
Now, following slow
fill, teams will then transition into what is called fast fill.
Similarly to how slow fill refers to going slowly,
fast Bill means we're going to go at a much faster rate.
This will be the bulk of our propellant loading operations,
where teams
are going to be in fast fill for the majority of the time.
Now, following fast fill, we will then transition into
topping.
Topping just means that we are going to
finish that last little bit that is needed to get us
to 100% level in those tanks.
Now, because these are our gases,
these are liquid gases.
As the temperatures start warming up, those gases
will, that liquid oxygen and liquid
hydrogen will start venting off into a gas.
Because of this, following topping teams will then
transition into what is called replenish mode.
Replenish means just that.
They're just going to constantly be replenishing these tanks
so that we make sure we're at 100% level and we are
at that flight ready level for when we enter terminal count.
Now, I'll be reporting out
as each of these operations and milestones are underway.
Our Artemis launch team, they're currently communicating
with each other through these separate
communications channels that I'll be tuning into.
And I'll make sure to relay as that information gets underway.
And they report those milestones and call outs out.
Now, while we wait for slow fill to get underway,
let's do a little bit of a recap of the entire countdown.
Again, we said we started on Monday at 4:44 p.m.
eastern time.
So shortly after the countdown started, ticking
down, teams filled the water tank
for the sound suppression system.
Now, this is done to help
protect the rocket and the supporting ground
structure structures that are there at the launch pad
from the extreme heat
and the power that's generated from the rocket's exhaust.
And it also helps suppress the sound that's produced
at liftoff.
Now, the Orion spacecraft, the core stage,
which, again, is that first stage of the SLS rocket
and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, or the upper
or second stage of SLES, were also all powered up for launch.
The Orion and the core stage flight batteries
have been charged, and at 4:14 a.m.
eastern time this morning, team started
what is called the air
two gaseous nitrogen or Jian two changeover.
Now this is a very important milestone to meet our launch
director technical assistant Maddie Forrest.
Dale kind of described it to us.
It's when we're really getting ready to get the party started.
The reason for this is because it basically signals
the team that we are on track
to be go for propellant loading later in the countdown.
And the reason for that
is because the air to gaseous nitrogen change over
basically is helping prevent any potential fire hazards.
It's a creating a clean and nurture environment
inside the vehicle so that then when we are putting
in those hazardous propellant, there aren't any issues.
So that started at 450 4:14 a.m.
this morning, and it was completed at 7:14 a.m.
Eastern time.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, the countdown for Artemis
two does have certain built in holds throughout the count.
We are currently in our first built in holds,
which lasts two hours and 45 minutes total.
Like I said, we're still currently in it
and we do have roughly about 38 minutes
and counting until we exit that first hold.
The other additional built in holds that have been
put in the countdown.
Again, these are pauses that the team has purposely
inserted to make sure that they can
just get some extra cushion time if needed.
That next one happens once we reach
what is called all stages replenish.
Now, all stages replenish just means that now
the entire SLS rocket is fully fueled
and teams are now just constantly replenishing
all the tanks to make sure that it is always at 100%
until we get into the final ten minutes of the countdown.
So when we reach all stages, replenish.
That's when the teams are going to be ready
to send our astronauts to the launch pad.
Because of this, the teams have inserted this extra hold.
It's an hour and ten minutes
that will happen again when we are at all stages.
Replenish.
Following that, we then have just one final hold
in the countdown, and that happens
when we're then getting ready for terminal count.
It'll be a 40 minute hold, and it will happen
roughly again about 40 minutes before we enter.
Then the last ten minutes of the countdown.
So to quickly recap again,
our launch director, Charlie Blackwell Thompson,
she gave the go for teams to start propellant loading.
We are currently in chill down for the core stage
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Up next will be slow fill
when we start loading that liquid propellant.
And I will report out when that is underway.
Welcome back.
This is Artemis launch control.
For those of you that are just now joining us, this is our NASA
live coverage for the Artemis two mission.
We are starting our propellant loading operations,
and we'll be giving you 24 over seven live coverage,
starting with our tanking operations
and continuing throughout the rest of this mission.
We're here in Firing Room one.
You can see there on your screen.
We have our Artemis launch team getting ready to launch
the SLES or Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft
for the agency's Artemis two mission later this evening.
Now, that launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern time today.
The team do have a two hour launch window,
which means that if we don't launch right at 6:24 p.m.,
they do have an additional two hours in which they can launch.
Now, as you can see, it is a gorgeous, bright and sunny
day here on the Space Coast in Florida.
Currently, you don't see any clouds inside,
but I can confirm there are some pretty white puffy clouds.
They don't seem to be a threat.
In fact, our launch weather officer.
He told the launch team that they have favorable
and acceptable weather, not only for tanking,
but also throughout today's countdown.
Now, the teams will continuing to monitor the weather forecast
as they as we get closer to today's launch window.
We're currently predicting 80% favorable weather conditions
for that two hour launch window.
We are currently ten hours and 17 minutes and counting
from the opening of the Artemis two mission.
We are currently in what is called our chill
down operations for the core stage,
liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tank.
Now, Chill down refers to getting all the systems
and lines very cold and ready to receive these super cold
cryogenic propellants prior to starting our actual
tanking loading operations.
Now let's break
down the SLS rocket.
We start with the core stage.
That is the first stage of the rocket.
Then on top of the core stage, you have what is the upper stage
or that interim cryogenic propulsion stage.
So in total for SLS
there are two stages, but there are four tanks in total.
You have our liquid hydrogen tank on both
the core stage and the upper stage,
and a liquid oxygen in both.
So four tanks total both liquid hydrogen and liquid
oxygen.
The core stage holds roughly
733,000 gallons.
The upper stage, meanwhile, holds 24,000,
so much smaller in comparison.
In fact,
the core stage is one of the tallest stages
first stages of a rocket
that NASA has ever used for its missions.
It's roughly 212ft tall.
Now fully fueled,
SLS weighs approximately 5.74
million pounds
before fueling, which is where we're currently at.
It is 3.5 million pounds.
So that means we're adding roughly 2.25
million pounds of propellant onboard this rocket.
That's quite a lot.
Again, to quickly recap, we are in chill down.
The next step will be when we enter.
Slow fill.
Slow fill refers to when we actually start those
propellant loading operations.
Teams will start to slowly load those cryogenic
propellants on board the core stage.
And then we will start transitioning
where we going a little bit quicker.
We call that fast fill.
So we will start flowing that propellant at a much faster
rate.
I'll continue
reporting out as these milestones are underway.
Now on the spacecraft side, teams
also have started what is called the Orion Cold Soak.
Now this basically refers
to making everything super cold on the spacecraft.
This is done in order to protect the avionics.
So we're not chilling the crew module,
but we're making
the thermal control system cold so that it can withstand
all of the different temperatures
that it's going to be seeing throughout today's countdown.
That started quickly after we gave the load
go for cryo load.
Now Artemis two is a test flight.
We're going to send astronauts Reed
Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook
and Jeremy Hansen on a ten day mission around the moon.
This is the first crewed test flight
for NASA's Artemis missions.
And we're going to be testing the life
support systems that are onboard Orion.
As well as conducting other operations
and demonstrations throughout the mission,
so that we can pave the way for our future Artemis missions.
When we send our astronauts to the moon.
In fact,
one of the new operations or the new demonstrations
at the hour our astronauts will get to perform
throughout this mission is what is called
the Proximity Operations demonstration.
So after launch,
after the upper
stage, this will be roughly about 50 minutes after launch.
The upper stage is going to fire its RL ten engine.
It has one RL ten engine at the bottom.
It will fire its engine so that it starts
a 32nd perigee raise maneuver burn.
This is going to put the spacecraft
or the Orion spacecraft, this low point
on its elliptical orbit as it's going around Earth.
About an hour later,
the upper stage
will fire its engine again to begin a 20 minute apogee
raise burn, in which point we're going to be
sending the spacecraft to its highest point
in its elliptical orbit around the Earth.
Earth.
Now roughly three hours and 25 minutes into the mission.
So this is about, again, 3.5 hours after launch.
Orion will separate from the upper stage at this point.
This is when our astronauts, our crew on board,
they're going to begin manually testing
Orion's can controls and steering thrusters
so that they can start what is called
this proximity operations demonstration.
This is basically
a series of maneuvers that are going to have the
Artemis two crew flying Orion, and practice approaching
the upper stage and backing away for roughly 70 minutes.
Now, the reason we're doing this test is so that, again,
we can practice this for when we go and have Artemis three,
and we actually have Orion practicing docking
with our lunar landing systems.
Now, it is important to note that Orion won't actually dock
with the upper stage for Artemis two.
Instead, it will get close and then drift,
and then go back and separate and then get close again.
We really just want to practice those proximity
operations to confirm we can do it.
We can.
The spacecraft can get aligned with where it needs to be.
And then following that, Orion will then fire its European
service module engine for about two minutes
so that it helps increase that separation distance
from the upper stage.
At this point,
the upper stage will fire its thrusters just one
final time so that it begins its disposal burn.
Following that burn completion, that's when the small breadbox
size or those shoebox size
secondary payloads that are currently
inside the Orion stage adapter.
If you see on your screen there up at the top,
we have our Orion spacecraft.
And then underneath there will be the Orion stage adapter
that is in between the upper stage and the spacecraft.
It is where we currently house those secondary payloads.
These are what are called a bunch of CubeSats.
These are some science
experiments that are being housed there.
And then they will separate with the upper stage.
And go to their respective destinations to conduct
their scientific data.
Now, again, following on, once
those are ejected from the Orion stage
adapter, that's approximately 5.5 hours into the mission.
The upper stage will then send, will then
go back on its trajectory
and will reenter
over the Pacific Ocean about 26 hours after launch.
Now, during this time, the Orion will remain
in a high Earth orbit for about 25 hours
before it executes its trans lunar injection burn.
Now, this is the burn that is needed
so that it can head on and send our four astronauts
around the moon and back.
So that's just a little quick recap
of what our next day looks like within the next 24 hours.
But let's take you back to where we currently are at.
Again.
We are ten hours and eight minutes and counting
from the opening of today's launch window.
That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
Eastern time.
We are currently in what is called chill down
for the core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Next up will be slow fill when we start loading
that liquid propellant, and I'll report out once
that is underway.
Welcome back.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently nine hours and 49 minutes and counting
until the opening of today's launch window for the Artemis
two mission.
Now, that launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern time this evening.
Teams do have a two hour launch window,
which means that if we don't open right at the start at 624,
they do
have an additional two hours in which they can try to launch
the Artemis launch team, which we see here on our screen.
They are getting ready to they are sitting on console,
getting ready to launch our Artemis two moon rocket.
Now, the
launch team just reported that we are
now starting our propellant loading operations
for the SLES or the Space Launch System rocket.
We are currently in slow fill for both the core stage
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks.
This means that propellant loading is officially underway.
We are now starting to load those super cold,
these cryogenic temperatures onto the SLS rocket.
Now we're going to start from the bottom
and make our way slowly up to the top.
So we'll first start with loading
the first stage of the rocket.
That's what we call the core stage.
It is the orange section
of the rocket that you see there on your screen
that sits between the two solid rocket boosters.
Now we are currently again in slow fill for both liquid
hydrogen and liquid oxygen on that core stage.
Slow fill refers to, as the name suggests,
to slowly start loading that propellant.
Now we do this because these tanks are really large.
In fact, the core stage
is one of the tallest first stages of a rocket.
So that means these tanks are also very, very large.
In fact, the liquid hydrogen tank on the core stage can
hold roughly 537,000 gallons.
And then on the liquid oxygen side,
it holds roughly 196,000 gallons.
So because of this,
because these tanks are so large, teams will start
slowly loading this propellant so that they can monitor
how the tanks, how the hardware is receiving these super cold
cryogenic propellants.
Once it looks like everything is under way
and there are no issues, they will
then transition into what is called fast fill,
which is where
we'll stay for the majority of our tanking operations.
Fast fill means we'll now start loading the rocket
at a much faster rate.
Now, before the rocket is fueled,
SLES weighs approximately 3.5 million pounds,
but fully fueled its 5.74 million pounds.
And we are starting to fuel that rocket.
So it is going to start getting heavier and heavier.
Now, we mentioned how the core stage
that is the largest segment of the SLS rocket.
In fact, it's one of the tallest first stages of a rocket
that NASA has ever used.
It's roughly 212ft tall.
Now, on top of it sits the upper stage
or the interim Cryogenic Propulsion stage.
Now that's roughly 45ft tall in comparison.
And then on top of that, you have
what is called the Orion Stage adapter.
It is actually the smallest part of the SLS rocket,
and it is what holds our cubesat.
These are these shoe box sized payloads
are the scientific payloads that will be sent off into space
following the separation of the upper stage
from the Orion spacecraft.
Now, it is the smallest part of the rocket at
only roughly five feet tall.
And then, of course, on top
of the Orion stage adapter sits our Orion spacecraft.
You can see there on your screen
the Orion spacecraft that's on top.
And then right there where we have our Artemis logo.
That is what is actually called the Crew Access Arm.
It is part of the mobile launcher
that is the gray L-shaped structure
that is connected to the SLS and Orion spacecraft.
The rocket.
Now the crew access
arm is very important as again, that name suggests,
it is the access point for our astronauts or really any
personnel to be able to access the spacecraft.
So that is where in fact our astronauts Reed
Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook
and Jeremy Hansen, they'll be walking through there
later on today when they are ready to board
their spacecraft for their mission around the moon.
So to quickly recap, we are now in slow fill
for both liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen
on the core stage.
That is again the first stage of the SLS rocket.
Following that, we will transition into fast fill
and I'll report out when that is officially underway.
Now while we wait to get into Fast fill,
these are currently
not monitoring any any big issues in the countdown.
It's actually been
things have been going really smoothly, fairly well.
We are definitely hoping for things to continue that way.
But let's talk a little bit about what how everything
that the teams had to do to get us to this point.
So teams first
rolled the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft
to the launch pad for the first time on January 17th.
Then on
February 2nd, teams performed a wet dress rehearsal.
Now, this was a rehearsal to practice
loading the propellants on board the rocket,
getting into terminal count but not actually launching.
So it was like a practice test before launch.
During that first wet dress rehearsal in February,
we experienced the hydrogen leak, which
following that test teams then decided to perform
another wet dress rehearsal.
They did so on February 19th
and it was very successful.
They didn't really see any hydrogen leak
throughout the entire account,
or any other leaks for that matter,
and they were able to continue
throughout all of the milestones that they had planned.
Now, we did have to roll back on February 25th
due to a helium issue that we saw on the upper stage
of our rocket.
Teams, and noticed
that the flow of helium to the upper stage was interrupted
and on, and that meant that we had to roll back
to the Vehicle Assembly building to help fix to fix that issue.
The only way to access that area was inside
the VAB.
Teams did successfully fix the issue inside the Vehicle
Assembly Building, and we were then ready to roll
back to the launch pad on March 20th.
Since then, the teams
have been getting the rocket then ready for launch,
and we entered our launch countdown on Monday at 4:44 p.m.
Eastern time.
And we are currently nine hours and 41 minutes and counting
from the opening of today's launch window
that opens at 6:24 p.m.
and teams do have a two hour launch window, which means that
they have two hours in which they can launch starting at 624.
We are
currently in slow fill for both the core stage
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks.
Next up will be fast fill
and I'll report out when that is underway.
Welcome back.
This is Artemis at launch control.
We are currently nine hours and 37 minutes and counting
from the opening of today's launch window for the Artemis
two mission.
Now, our launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern Time, and teams do have a two hour launch window,
which means they have two hours in which they can launch the
SLS or Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft
that will send four astronauts around the moon and back.
Now the Artemis launch team, they're currently in firing room
one like you see on your screen.
There they are right now, in the process of loading
cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant onto the SLS rocket.
We are now in our fast fill operations
for the core stage liquid oxygen tank.
This means that we just completed the slow
fill on that tank,
and we have now transitioned into fast fill,
which means we are now starting to load liquid oxygen
at a much faster rate.
Now on the hydrogen side, we are still in slow
fill for liquid hydrogen.
So slow fill for liquid hydrogen.
Fast fill for liquid oxygen on the core stage.
Now just to throw some numbers at you guys.
Again.
The hydrogen tank on the core stage holds
roughly 537,000 gallons.
The liquid oxygen tank, meanwhile, holds roughly
196,000 gallons
on the upper stage.
In total, that's also another 24,000 gallons.
So we have four tanks,
over 750,000
gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen that is being fed
all to these engines, to the four Rs 25 engines
at the bottom of the core stage,
and the one RL ten engine
that's at the bottom of the upper stage.
And now why do we need so much propellant?
Because we're sending our astronauts around the moon.
We are going into deep space.
We're going farther than we have since our Apollo missions
in 1972.
Now, again, all of this liquid propellant feeds
the engines that are at the bottom of those stages
for this tremendous
and magnificent rocket that we see out there on the pad.
In fact, in total, SLS is roughly 322ft tall.
It's taller than the Statue of Liberty.
And it will send
our astronauts around the moon.
We have our commander, Reed Wiseman,
pilot Victor Glover,
and mission specialists Christina Cook
and Jeremy Hansen.
You can see them there on your screen
from left to right.
You have Victor, Jeremy, Christina and Reed.
They'll be getting ready to start their day
and get on board their rocket
for their mission around the moon.
Now, Artemis two is a test flight.
This is the first crewed test flight of the Artemis missions.
We're going to evaluate the crewed system
performance in a deep space environment.
We'll perform a flyby around the moon.
We'll practice a proximity operations demonstration
with the upper stage.
All in preparation for our future Artemis missions.
For when we land humans back on the lunar surface.
So to quickly
recap of where we are in today's countdown.
We are currently underway in our fast
fill operations for the liquid oxygen tank on the core stage.
That is the first stage of the SLS rocket,
and we are still in our slow fill operations on the liquid
hydrogen side, on the core stage.
I'll report back once we have started fast fill
for that liquid hydrogen tank.
This is Artemis launch control.
If you are just joining us, we are currently nine hours
and 23 minutes and counting from the opening of today's
launch window for the Artemis two mission.
I'm Antonia Jaramillo and NASA communications,
and I, along with our fellow commentators,
will be taking you
through the rest of today's launch countdown,
as well as the rest of the Artemis two mission.
NASA will be providing 24 over seven live coverage,
starting with our propellant loading operations
that is currently underway and will continue all the way
through our splashdown operations.
Now, the Artemis
launch team, what you just saw there
on your screen, they are in the process of loading cryogenic
or super cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen
onto the SLS or the Space Launch System rocket.
That's a view of the rocket right there at Launch
Pad 39 B, where it will lift off for the agency's Artemis
two mission.
Now, Artemis two is a test flight.
We will be sending our astronauts Commander Reid
Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover,
and mission specialists Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen
on a ten day mission around the moon and back.
Now we are currently again
underway with our propellant loading operations.
We are in what is called slow fill for the core stage
liquid hydrogen tank and fast fill for the liquid oxygen tank.
Now, slow
fill refers to slowly loading that propellant.
This is done so that teams are monitoring
how the hardware is receiving this super cold, hazardous
propellant that is being onboarded on the rocket.
On the rocket
following slow fill that then transitions into fast fill. When
we start loading that propellant at a much faster rate.
So oxygen is currently already in fast fill,
and liquid hydrogen will soon
follow suit.
Now you can see there on your screen on the rocket
there is a
you can see maybe some little like checker marks
that look to be on the solid rocket boosters.
Those are the two nose cone shaped boosters
in between, on either side of the core stage.
Now, what do those black and white
checkerboards and squares and circles means?
Well, these are our photo Graham metric markings.
They serve.
They serve as imagery references for the engineering photo
and video documentation as, for the post-flight analysis
of how SLES attitude and its position relative to
the, the ground structure during liftoff and ascent performed.
So that they're not just on there randomly.
They do serve a purpose.
And it is, again, for all of that post-flight analysis.
Now let's take it back over to the firing room,
and let's take a look at our launch team.
You can see there you have Charlie Blackwell Thompson.
She's right now walking around on the first upper level road.
She is our Artemis launch director.
She's currently wearing a green blazer.
And you might see some other folks
around the room also wearing green a lot.
Why green?
Well, at NASA, we love our superstitions.
And we love our traditions.
And for the launch team.
Green is one of those,
fun traditions that they like to carry on.
Green for them means go.
So they wear green for good luck.
Now the launch team, they communicate with each other via
these communication
channels to update how we are in the countdown.
I'll be monitoring those loops and I'll report out
as each call out is made.
The team actually
just reported that we have now transitioned from slow fill
to fast fill on the core stage liquid hydrogen tank.
This means we are now in fast bill for both
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Now following fast fill, teams
will then transition into what is called topping.
Topping just refers to finishing up
the last little bit that is needed to get to 100%
level on both tanks.
Once we finish topping, we will then enter
what is called replenish mode.
And this means that the teams are just constantly replenishing
these tanks to maintain 100% flight level.
This is done because as the temperatures
of these liquid propellants
naturally warm up throughout the countdown,
they will start venting off into a gas state.
And so because of that,
the teams
want to constantly be replenishing the tanks
so that they're not losing any propellant.
And we're going down from that 100% level.
So again,
we are now in fast fill for both core stage
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
On the upper stage, meanwhile, we haven't
started our propellant loading operations.
There.
I will report out once that process is also underway.
Teams will first start with chilling down
the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank.
And because the upper stage is so much smaller
than the core stage,
it actually gets to skip a step in its propellant
loading operations,
and it goes straight from chill down to fast fill.
And really, this is done again
because of the sizes of these tanks
on the core stage.
You have the liquid hydrogen tank that fits roughly
537,000
gallons of liquid hydrogen.
The liquid oxygen tank, meanwhile, holds
roughly 196,000 gallons in total.
That's about 733,000
gallons on the core stage alone.
On the upper stage, meanwhile,
the total amount of propellant is roughly 24,000 gallons.
So significantly smaller.
And because of this, they are able to go straight
from chill down into fast fill.
Now again, we have not
started our propellant loading operations on the upper stage,
also known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
I'll report out once that process is underway.
But to quickly recap,
we are in fast fill for the core stage.
Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
Now, all of these tanks on both
the core stage and the upper stage
are going to feed the engines underneath those both stages.
On the core stage, there are four Rs 25 engines.
You see them there on your screen right there.
So both the liquid hydrogen and the liquid oxygen tank,
they feed those four Rs 25 engines that start at roughly
T -6.36 seconds until liftoff.
That's when they get ready.
And then on the upper stage, the liquid oxygen and liquid
hydrogen tank feed that one RL ten engine.
Now, combined with the solid rocket boosters,
SLS produces roughly 8.8 million
pounds of thrust.
In total, it is 322ft
tall, taller than the Statue of Liberty.
In fact,
let's break down the rocket for you a little bit.
So up there at the top, we have our Orion spacecraft.
Right underneath is actually then what is called
the Orion stage adapter.
That's when the SLS rocket actually starts.
The Orion stage adapter is the smallest
portion of the rocket, roughly five feet tall.
Underneath that is then our upper stage.
Or that interim cryogenic propulsion stage.
Then you'll see this nose cone orange shape underneath.
That's the launch vehicle stage adapter.
It's actually enclosing part
of that upper stage for protection.
Underneath the cone shaped structure is our core stage.
That is the first stage.
It has that pretty butterscotch color.
And that is due to the thermal protection
system, the foam that is used to again,
protect the rocket.
On either side of the core stage
are the two solid rocket boosters.
And then down right at the bottom are
the four Rs 25 engines.
All right.
So we are in fast fill again for core stage
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
I'll report out when the next milestone is underway
and when we start our upper stage loading operations.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently eight hours
and 58 minutes and counting from the opening of today's
launch window for the Artemis two mission at.
Launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern Time later today.
Teams do have a two hour launch window
in which they can try to launch.
So if we don't launch right at 6:24 p.m., that is okay.
You're looking at a
live view of our Artemis launch team.
They are in the process of loading liquid propellant
onboard the SLS or the Space
Launch System rocket.
We're currently in the process of loading liquid hydrogen
and liquid oxygen on the core stage of the SLS rocket.
Now, the core stage is the first stage of that rocket.
You can see there on your screen it is the orange section
in between the two solid rocket boosters.
That's actually a great view of our rocket at Launch Pad 39 B.
I mean, you can see it is a beautiful day.
We have some puffy white clouds, blue skies.
All in all, very favorable weather.
In fact, our launch weather officers,
they've been predicting
80% chance of go for our launch window this evening.
Now they're at the bottom of
the rocket are our four Rs 25 engines.
Each.
Engines are roughly the size of a compact car.
The solid rocket boosters.
Those are the two white rocket boosters.
And on either side of the core stage, each
booster is taller than the Statue of Liberty,
and they also hold the entire weight of the rocket.
Now fully fueled,
SLS weighs 5.74 million pounds.
And again, you can see on your screen
you might see some, some gas that's being vented off
underneath the, the rocket and the mobile launcher.
The mobile launcher is that gray shape structure
that is connected to the rocket.
It's essentially what is providing
all of the power the propellant, the coolants, everything,
all the access point to keep the rocket in the spacecraft alive
and functioning and running until it is ready for launch.
Now that gas that you're seeing being vented off,
it doesn't mean we're getting ready to lift off any time soon.
It's just that natural boil off that is
coming from the propellant that is being fed to the rocket
as it naturally warms up over time.
So totally normal. We expect to see it.
You'll probably expect to see it some more
as we actually transition and continue with our propellant
loading procedures and move forward into the upper stage,
which is that second stage on top of the core stage,
also known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage,
when we also start loading
propellant on board that second stage,
you might also see some gas also starting
to, vent off at that higher level.
In fact, you see there on your screen
is a nice, better, closer up view of the upper stage.
And then our Orion spacecraft up on top.
Now let's take
you to a graphic of where we currently are
in our tanking operations.
You see there on your screen on the left hand side,
it will tell you how far we are in our core stage.
Loading operations.
We're currently 28% of the way filled in liquid oxygen,
and about 30% of the way filled for the liquid
hydrogen side.
Meanwhile,
for the Interim cryogenic propulsion stage,
that upper stage, you see, it's all grayed out there
because we haven't begun that, propellant loading operations.
I'll report out once that is underway.
But for right now, we're just focusing
on the core stage.
Now, in the meantime, while the launch team is right
now starting to feel that fuel, the rocket and that propellant
loading is underway.
Our astronauts
are getting ready to wake up
and start their day.
As a reminder, we will be sending
four astronauts around the moon and back.
Commander Reid Wiseman,
pilot Victor Glover, and mission
specialists Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen
will go on a ten day mission
around the moon.
Artemis two is a test flight.
Where we are going to test the life
support systems with our flight crew on board.
This is NASA's first crewed Artemis mission,
and it will pave the way for our future Artemis missions.
For when we land humans back on the lunar surface.
So, to quickly recap, we are in fast
fill for our core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen,
and I'll report out
once our upper stage propellant loading operations
are underway.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently eight hours and 45 minutes and counting
from the opening of today's launch window for NASA's Artemis
two mission.
Now, that launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern time.
And teams do have a two hour launch window,
which means that they can try launching within those two hours
if they are unable to hit it right at the start.
At 624.
Now, the Artemis launch team is currently loading
super cold or cryogenic liquid propellant
onto the SLES or Space Launch System rocket.
We're currently in our fast fill operations for the
core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks,
and the teams just reported that they are also now starting
their chilled down operations for the liquid hydrogen tank on
the upper stage, or that second stage of the SLS rocket.
You can see a great view of it there on your screen.
It sits right up on top of where you have the,
the nose cone shape structure that's orange up on top.
There is a portion of that upper stage,
also known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
And then if you're curious,
the, nose cone shaped,
structure shape that is called
also the launch vehicle stage adapter.
It is a part of the rocket.
And it is enclosing
also a portion of the interim cryogenic propulsion stage.
This is done for protection.
So you don't see the engine.
That's underneath that second stage.
But it is underneath there hidden behind the,
the launch vehicle stage adapter.
So again, we are now starting our chilled down
for the liquid hydrogen on our upper stage.
Following that, we will then transition into fast fill
for liquid hydrogen on the upper stage.
Meanwhile, on the core stage that is the first stage of
the rocket fast fill is already underway.
There's a great profile shot, so right underneath
that nose cone shape is then that cylinder orange structure.
That is the core stage.
It is one of the tallest first stages of a rocket
that NASA has ever used for any mission.
It's roughly 212ft tall.
In fact, in total, the SLS rocket and Orion
spacecraft sit at roughly 322ft
tall.
Now I'll report out
once chilled down is complete on the upper stage,
and we have transitioned into fast fill.
As a quick recap.
Artemis two is scheduled to launch no earlier than 6:24 p.m.
Eastern Time this evening.
Teams do have a two hour launch window.
And this mission will be sending
four astronauts around the moon and back.
We'll be sending NASA astronauts.
Read Wiseman,
Victor Glover, Christina Cook and Canadian Space
Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a ten day
mission.
They actually just got the go
not too long ago to actually start waking up
and officially start their launch day.
Now that's a
great view of our SLS rocket at Launch Pad 39 B up.
We just switched it.
But as you saw there,
it's a gorgeous day here on the Space Coast.
We have some beautiful blue skies, some puffy white clouds.
Our launch weather officers are predicting 80%
chance of favorable conditions throughout our two hour
launch window.
Now, of course, if there are any changes
or updates, we will make sure to provide those to you.
In fact,
NASA will be providing
24 over seven live coverage of this entire mission,
starting with our propellant loading operations,
which is currently happening and will continue all the way
through our splashdown procedures.
You can see there on your screen
how to watch.
Now lasting approximate approximately ten days,
Artemis two will send four astronauts
to test the Orion spacecraft and a high Earth orbit
before becoming the first astronauts
to fly around the moon since the Apollo 17 crew in 1972.
Again, we are in fast fill
for core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen,
and we are in chill down for the liquid hydrogen tank
on our upper stage or interim cryogenic
propulsion stage.
Good morning from Florida Space coast.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently eight hours and 30 minutes
and counting from the opening of today's launch window
for NASA's Artemis two mission.
I'm Antonia Jaramillo and NASA communications.
And if you're just joining us, the Space Launch System, or SLS
rocket is in the process of of cryogenic propellant loading.
That means the launch team that is currently
in firing room, one that you see on your screen
there are loading the cryogenic or super cold liquid hydrogen
and liquid oxygen on the SLS rocket, fueling it for flight.
Now, the team just reported that we have now started
our fast fill operations on the liquid hydrogen tank
on our upper stage of the SLS rocket
that is also called the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
It is the second stage of our SLS rocket.
You have a great view of it there on your screen,
up at the top of you.
See you have the Orion spacecraft underneath.
There will be then actually the smallest section
of the SLS rocket known as the Orion stage adapter.
And then quickly and then shortly underneath
that is our interim cryogenic propulsion stage.
Now teams are now starting the fast
fill operations for liquid hydrogen.
Now, fast fill, as the name suggests, means
that teams are just loading this propellant at a faster rate.
Now, following the
liquid hydrogen operations on the upper stage, teams will
then also work on then their propellant loading operations
for the liquid oxygen tank that is also in their.
In total, the SLS rocket has four tanks,
two liquid hydrogen and two liquid oxygen.
One of each on each stage.
So you have there
our upper stage or the interim cryogenic propulsion stage.
And then underneath sits the core stage.
That is the first stage and the main stage of the SLS rocket.
It is the orange segment that you see there
on your screen in between the two solid rocket boosters.
We are also in our fast fill operations for both liquid
hydrogen and liquid oxygen on the core stage.
So fueling is well underway.
And everything is looking good so far
for that.
For our two hour launch window that opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern time this evening.
Now, Artemis
two is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39 B.
That's what you see there on your screen.
That's where SLS is currently situated.
And it is a gorgeous day
here on the Space Coast.
We have some beautiful white clouds, some
beautiful white puffy clouds and some clear blue skies.
We're looking at 80% chance of favorable
weather conditions.
And our astronauts that are getting ready to launch
on this historic mission are now starting their day.
They woke up not too long ago.
And will pretty soon go through all of the checkouts
and steps that are needed before they're ready
to get on their rocket.
There's a picture of them on your screen there.
From left to right, we have the pilot, Victor Glover.
Then you have our mission specialist, Jeremy Hansen.
And right next to him is our other mission
specialist, Christina Cook.
Next to
her is then our commander, Reid Wiseman.
These four astronauts
will go on a ten day mission
around the moon and back
onboard the Orion spacecraft.
A fun fact you see, again there we were talking a little bit
about the different sections of the rocket,
and we mentioned briefly the Orion stage adapter.
Now the Orion stage adapter
is the, the last section of the SLS rocket.
It's what sits in between the interim Cryogenic
propulsion stage and the Orion spacecraft.
And it's also what houses
our secondary payloads or these shoe boxes.
CubeSats that will be providing
and conducting scientific experiments.
They'll be deployed shortly after separation
from the upper stage and the spacecraft,
and they will go to their specific destination in space.
To conduct scientific data.
Now inside the Orion stage adapter.
Fun fact our astronauts.
So read Wiseman,
Victor Glover, Christina Cook, and Jeremy Hansen.
They actually
got the opportunity to sign the interior of the OSR
or that Orion stage adapter.
So their names are on that rocket.
It is fully built by NASA
at Marshall Space Flight Center
in Huntsville, Alabama.
Now going back to the upper stage,
that interim cryogenic propulsion stage,
it holds roughly 24,000 gallons of liquid propellant.
The liquid hydrogen tank is approximately 17,000 gallons,
and the liquid oxygen is a roughly 6000
gallons.
Much smaller in comparison to the core stage
that holds roughly 733,000 gallons total.
You have a 537,000 gallons
of liquid hydrogen on the core stage tank,
and then roughly 197,000 or 196,
Fully fueled
SLS weighs about 5.74 million
pounds of thrust.
And now all these four tanks, the one on the upper stage
and the one on the
on the core stage, they feed all those things.
They feed into the engines at liftoff.
So the core stage will feed the four Rs 25 engines
that you see at the bottom of your screen.
There.
And the upper stage, meanwhile, will feed.
It's one RL ten engine that is actually enclosed
by the launch vehicle stage adapter.
That is the nose cone shaped orange structure
that you see on your screen there.
It is actually a hiding the RL ten engine from our view,
but this is done on purpose to protect the
the upper stage.
So to quickly recap, we are in fast fill
for liquid hydrogen on our upper stage.
We have not started our propellant
loading operations on the liquid oxygen tank yet.
I'll report out once that operation is underway.
And on the core stage.
Meanwhile, we are still in our fast
fill operations for both tanks, for both liquid hydrogen
and liquid oxygen.
This is Artemis as launch control.
We are currently eight hours
and six minutes and counting from the opening of today's
launch window for the Artemis two mission.
Now, that launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern time this evening.
Teams do have a two hour launch window,
which means that if we don't launch right at 624,
they do have
an additional two hours in which they can try to launch.
Now, the launch team, which we see here on our screen,
they're currently in Firing Room
one at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
They're in the process of loading
liquid propellant onto the SLS rocket.
Now, it's not just the launch team
that's here in the firing room that is helping
and is on on console for today's launch.
But we also have supporting teams across the country
that are tuning in to this countdown.
One of those teams
is actually the Artemis mission management team.
They recently just got here on console.
They have a, separate section and room.
If you actually look, it's
to the right hand
side of our launch director and assistant launch director,
Charlie Blackwell Thompson and Jeremy Graber, respectively.
Over there on the right hand side,
where you kind of see that a glass enclosure
structure in there is where our Artemis
mission management team will sit for the duration
of today's countdown.
Now, they just recently
arrived on console.
And apart from the mission management team,
we also have the mission Control team
at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston
and the SLS Engineering and Support Center
at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
And this doesn't include the other several
contractor locations that are also around the country
supporting this launch.
And this mission.
So again, you have our prime main launch
team that is here in Firing Room one, Charlie Blackwell.
Thompson.
You see there, she's wearing a green blazer.
She's our launch director leading this team.
But then there are also supporting teams that are also
assisting the launch team throughout today's countdown.
That includes the Artemis mission management team,
the mission control team in Houston
and the SLS Engineering and Support Center at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center,
in addition to several contractor locations
that are located around the country.
Now, as we mentioned,
we are currently
in our propellant loading operations for the SLS rocket.
Teams are currently in fast fill
for both core stage liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
The core stage is the first stage of the SLS rocket.
Here's a great graphic where you can see
where we currently are at in our tanking operations,
and you'll see above the core stage.
We have also started
our loading operations in the Interim
Cryogenic Propulsion stage.
This is the second stage of the SLS rocket.
Now we have not started loading liquid oxygen yet.
I'll report out when that is underway,
but in the meantime we are good with them.
We are in the process of loading liquid oxygen
and liquid hydrogen on the core stage,
and liquid hydrogen on the upper stage.
I'll report out when we are now
starting our liquid oxygen operations on the upper stage.
Welcome back.
This is Artemis at launch control.
We're currently eight hours and one minute and counting
from the opening of today's launch window for the Artemis
two mission.
I'm Anthony Jaramillo and NASA communications,
and I,
along with our fellow
commentators, will be taking you through today's countdown.
And actually joining me
currently in the room here in Firing Room
one is our assistant launch director, Jeremy Graver.
Jeremy, thank you so much
for taking the time to speak with us today.
No problem. Good morning. Tony. Happy to be here.
You know, Jeremy, I think we recently heard
the call out that our flight crew, our astronauts,
they just got their wake up call.
Can you run us through
kind of what the rest of the day now looks like for them?
Absolutely. Yeah.
They were woken up, just a little while ago.
They'll get up,
as most of us do on a on a busy, exciting day.
Get up. They'll get their breakfast.
They'll they'll kind of get into the groove of the day.
They'll go through, multiple meetings and discussions
just to understand, where we are.
In a little while,
the launch director and our flight director will,
provide a weather briefing for the flight crew
to talk about
all of the weather potentials that could, play into today's,
launch opportunity.
Once that's complete, they will,
then start getting suited up and they'll head
to the suit room, start doing all their preparations from
a, a suit up perspective as that's completed.
They'll be checking with us to make sure that,
we're ready for them to come to the pad,
and then they'll be on their way.
Headed out to the pad in the Astro van,
ready to get out to Launch Pad 39.
B, get up on
top of the mobile launcher onto the two 74ft level.
Go across the crew access
arm into the white room and enter the Orion spacecraft.
So we're really excited for the for those events later today.
It is.
It's a very busy and exciting day like you mentioned.
I hope they got some good rest and didn't, you know,
wake up a bunch of times throughout the night?
I know, I certainly did.
But just because of pure excitement like you mentioned.
Now let's shift focus back on the rocket.
How's propellant loading going?
Everything is going very well right now.
As I, stepped off console to come in here, the core stage
two tank was about 95%, loaded.
The upper stage is probably about halfway
and moving towards their, completion for H2.
The liquid oxygen side of the core stage
is in fast fill as well. And,
proceeding well, and we will be getting
into the upper stage low to loading in a little while.
So all things moving, per schedule and,
and working towards that, that plan for the day.
That is great news.
And actually, I think we just heard that
they got the, the go for transitioning into that
liquid hydrogen, on the core stage two topping.
So like you said, we're getting very close.
Absolutely. That is exciting, you know.
So can you tell us a little bit
then about those upcoming milestones
once we finish that propellant loading on all four tanks?
Yeah.
So it's absolutely critical for us to get into what we call
stable replenish on all stages.
And what that means is the liquid oxygen and liquid
hydrogen tanks on both
the core stage and the interim cryo propulsion stage, or ICP,
are fully loaded
and we are just maintaining that level of of loading.
And that's a very, quiescent configuration for us.
And that's required for us to be in that configuration, to then
be allowed to send the flight crew,
our close out crew,
which is there to assist the flight crew, getting on board.
Orion,
we need to be in that stable replenish configuration
to be able to send those crews out to the launchpad.
And as we send those crews out, that is really,
our press and our push to to launch.
We'll get the crew on board.
They go through a number of checks, communication checks,
system checks, and then our close up
crews job is to back
out of the crew module, close all of our hatches,
get us in configuration to be able to.
Then the closeout crew to leave the pad.
And that puts us
in, the configuration to allow us
to proceed through the rest of launch countdown
as we proceed down to, our final.
Hold that. T-minus ten minutes.
Where we do all of our launch polls, and
determine that we are ready to pick up
with what we call a terminal count,
which is from t -ten minutes down to launch at t0.
And, really excited to get to all of those milestones
as we proceed through the day.
We are all very excited or or rooting for you guys
watching along.
And as you mentioned, you know, the reason to get to,
all stages replenish first is because that's,
that's the point where
we're at the safest configuration
to send people back to the launch pad. Correct?
That is absolutely correct.
It is, a very stable configuration.
It's the safe configuration that we require to ensure that,
we're ready to send those crews out to the pad.
Jeremy Kramer, thank you so much for taking
the time to speak with us today, where we're rooting for you.
Wishing you the best of luck,
and we'll let you get back on console.
Excellent. Thank you Tony. Appreciate it.
Go, Artemis. Go, Artemis.
All right.
And so just to quickly recap, we are now
in our topping phase for liquid hydrogen on the core stage.
We are still in fast fill on the liquid oxygen side
for the core stage,
and also fast fill for the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank.
I'll report back once we have entered
our topping phase for liquid oxygen on the core stage.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently seven hours
and 47 minutes and counting from the opening of today's
launch window for NASA's Artemis two mission.
That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern time this evening.
Now, the teams do have a two hour launch window.
So that means if we can't launch right at 624, that's okay.
They still have an additional two hours
in which they can attempt to launch.
Now, currently, the Artemis
launch team, what you see on your screen
there they are in the process of loading
cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant
onto the SLS or the Space Launch System rocket.
The teams actually just reported that we have completed
loading liquid hydrogen onto the core stage of the rocket.
Now, the core stage is the first stage of that
SLS rocket.
There's a great graphic representation
of where we currently are in our tanking operations.
So as you see, we are at 100% level
for the liquid hydrogen tank on the core stage.
So that means we are now the teams are just going to be
constantly replenishing that tank as some of that gap us
as some of that liquid starts boiling off into a gas due
to the temperatures as it starts warming up.
So teams will therefore replenish it
constantly to maintain this 100% flight level.
Now, as you can see
right above the hydrogen tanks, that's our liquid oxygen tank
that's currently 70% of the way filled.
And then on our upper stage or the interim cryogenic
propulsion stage,
this is the rocket stage that sits on top of the core stage.
We are currently in our fast fill operations for liquid
hydrogen on that upper stage.
Teams have not started liquid oxygen
for the upper stage
and that is totally normal.
That is part of the countdown.
We are scheduled
to start our upper stage liquid oxygen loading operations
until we start getting into, so we get much further into our,
loading operations for the liquid oxygen
tank on the core stage.
So again, we are now
in replenish for the core stage liquid hydrogen tank.
And we are in fast fill for the liquid oxygen
tank on the core stage
and the liquid hydrogen tank on the upper stage.
On the upper stage.
Now a quick recap on how
the whole tanking loading process goes.
Teams will first start with what is called chill down.
So prior to us actually starting to load the super cold
propellant onto the rocket,
they will first chill down all of the systems and lines.
This is done to make sure
that it is able to receive these super cold temperatures.
In order for hydrogen to be in a liquid state,
it needs to be -423°F.
Oxygen in a liquid state is -297°F.
So very, very cold temperatures.
And as such,
we want to make sure that we are conditioning
all of the systems to be able to receive those cryogenic
temperatures so that we aren't shocking the hardware
and we're not causing any potential damage unnecessarily.
Now, following chill down, we will transition into what
is called course, into slow fill on the core stage.
Now, slow fill, as the name suggests, refers
to slowly starting to feed that propellant onto the rocket.
This officially marks the start of our propellant loading.
Teams actually got into slow fill for the liquid
oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks on the core stage
earlier this morning, a little bit before
9:00 am.
Following slow fill is then when we transition
into fast fill, this is where we stay
for the majority of our tanking loading operations.
Similarly to slow fill.
Fast fill refers to loading propellant
at a much faster rate,
and that is currently where the liquid oxygen
tank state is in.
We are in fast fill for liquid oxygen tank on the core stage.
Now after fast fill we transition into topping.
This is the last little bit that is
needed to fill the tanks to 100% level.
Hence why we're topping it off.
Following topping, we are now at 100%.
And so now we transition into replenish
mode.
Replenish just means we're going
to be constantly replenishing these tanks so that we make sure
we are again at 100% flight level.
Now you see on your, on your screen there,
we can see some venting coming off the rocket.
This is totally expected as we begin our loading operations,
some of that liquid propellant starts warming up.
It'll start to boil off and vent outside of the rocket.
Hence why we see some of that gas getting,
getting expanded from down underneath
where the engines are at the bottom,
and also a little bit at the top
where the upper stage is located.
So again, an expected condition.
Now let's take you through, the rocket a little bit.
See, up there on your screen we have the Orion spacecraft.
Underneath there is the Orion stage adapter.
The Orion stage adapter is what houses the,
our secondary payloads or these, scientific cubesats.
They're shoe boxes, scientific experiments
that will go to space following separation
from the upper stage.
And the spacecraft.
It's also the smallest section
of the SLS rocket at only five feet.
Underneath, the Orion stage adapter sets the interim
cryogenic propulsion stage, or that second stage.
Underneath there is our core stage
or the first stage of the rocket.
Now the core stage.
It consists of the propellant tanks,
a ducts, the valves, avionics, and it also houses
the four Rs 25 engines that are down there at the bottom,
next to the core stage, we
have our two solid rocket boosters.
Each is taller than the Statue
of Liberty.
Now, on those rocket
boosters, you can see our NASA worm.
The worm logo spans 25ft end to end,
or roughly the length of one booster motor segment.
And we actually have five segments each on each booster.
So ten segments total.
It's actually one segment more than what was used
during the Space Shuttle program.
Now you should also be able to see some,
some black and white markings, around the rocket.
Now, these are used for imagery, for the SLS
engineering and support team that's based out at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
They use this for imagery to track and guide the rocket.
After liftoff and during ascent.
And it will also be used in
their post-flight analysis.
Now, the orange color of the core stage
is the thermal protection system.
Or that spray on foam insulation.
Now this provides the thermal protection
for every part of the rocket.
And when the foam is applied, it gives the rocket this light
yellow color that the sun's ultraviolet rays eventually tan,
giving our SLS rocket its famous butterscotch
color.
So again,
to quickly recap, we are in replenish mode
for the core stage liquid hydrogen tank.
We are about 75% of the way filled on our liquid
oxygen tank.
On the core stage.
But we're still in fast fill.
I'll let you know when we transition into topping
for the core stage.
Liquid oxygen tank.
And then on the upper stage, teams are also in fast
fill for liquid hydrogen,
and they have not started the
liquid oxygen operations on the upper stage yet.
I'll make sure to report out all of these milestones
as they're underway.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently seven hours
and 30 minutes and counting from the opening of today's
launch window for the Artemis two mission.
That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
Eastern Time.
And teams do have a two hour launch window,
which means that
if we don't launch right at the beginning at 624,
they do have
an additional two hours in which they can attempt to launch.
Our launch team is currently in Firing Room one at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and are in the process
of loading cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant
onto the SLS or the Space Launch System rocket.
Now, teams did
just complete a fast fill for the liquid hydrogen tank on
the upper stage, or our interim cryogenic propulsion stage.
Now, fast fill refers to loading propellant at a faster rate.
This is preceded by chill down, which gets the system ready
to receive these super cold temperatures.
And then following fast fill.
Teams will then transition into topping and replenish.
I'll get more into those.
But before that
again we just finish fast fill for the liquid
hydrogen tank on the upper stage,
and teams are now performing before they start topping
what is called a vented relief test.
This test is basically just pressurizing
the upper stage tanks with helium
to test the relief capabilities of the tank pressure
to make sure that it can handle that pressure capability
during flight.
So between fast fill and topping,
teams will perform this test on both the liquid hydrogen
and the liquid oxygen tanks on the upper stage.
Following that test completion, we will then transition
into topping, which just means finishing loading
the rest of the tank to 100%.
Following topping
wing topping, we enter what is called replenish mode.
Which basically just means that now
we are going to be replenishing these tanks at a 100% level,
because as we naturally get throughout the countdown,
that propellant is going to start warming up
and it'll start boiling and venting off.
As you can see on your screen there what is happening.
So because of that, and because the teams
want to make sure
that they still have 100% level in all four tanks,
the two on the upper stage and the two on the, core stage,
or the first stage of the rocket.
They continuously replenish the tanks
until the final ten minutes of the launch countdown,
or what is known as terminal count.
Now, speaking of replenish mode, we are currently in replenish
mode for the core stage liquid hydrogen tank.
So you're just talking about how we finished
fast fill on the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank.
We are also then in replenish mode for the core stage
liquid hydrogen tank.
On the liquid oxygen side we are still in fast
fill for the core stage, liquid oxygen.
And then on the upper stage.
We haven't started those liquid oxygen operations yet.
The teams want to wait
until we are a little bit
further along in the core stage liquid oxygen
loading operations.
Before we transition into that upper stage
loading operation.
Now, in
total, the SLS and Orion rocket and Orion spacecraft
are 322ft tall.
At liftoff,
SLS produces 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
A little bit more than our
the Saturn five rocket that was used during the Apollo
missions, which were roughly 7.5 million pounds of thrust
to send those astronauts to the moon.
With our SLS rocket, though,
you don't just have those liquid oxygen,
those liquid, fuel tanks that are fueling the rocket,
but you also have two solid rocket boosters
that are attached on either side.
You see there on your screen right there.
They also help provide that extra push
and that thrust right at liftoff.
Now let's go up a little bit on the rocket.
Go back to our upper or our second stage,
our interim cryogenic propulsion stage.
For those that have been following us
along since Artemis one,
you might remember that the Interim cryogenic Propulsion
Stage for Artemis one provided the big push to send
the Orion spacecraft on its way to the moon for Artemis two.
However, it's going to be a little different.
And the reason for that is because Artemis two is NASA's
first crewed test flight,
meaning we are sending
astronauts on board this rocket for the first time.
And because of that, we are going to have the capability
to practice
a bunch of different systems and tests and operations
that we couldn't do if it were uncrewed.
One of these operations is
what is called the Proximity operation demonstration.
This involves the upper stage or that interim cryogenic
propulsion stage and the Orion spacecraft
practicing proximity maneuvers where they
where the Orion spacecraft will practice approaching
and getting away from the upper stage
in a high Earth orbit.
The reason teams want to practice
this is in preparation for Artemis
three and future Artemis missions for when Orion docks
with our lunar landing systems.
And so because of this, this means
that the interim cryogenic propulsion stage
will be separating from Orion much sooner.
Meaning
that following this demonstration,
it will be Orion's European service module
that will actually send
the spacecraft on its trajectory to the moon.
It will perform what is called the trans lunar
injection burn.
Now, this proximity operation
is scheduled to happen during the first day of flight.
So pretty soon
and NASA will be providing you
with 24 over seven live coverage starting right now.
As we have started,
as we have been
going through our propellant
loading operations, and we will continue
throughout the course of the entire mission,
including all of the splashdown operations.
Artemis
two will send NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover
and Christina Cook, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy
Hansen on a ten day mission around the moon and back.
Orion is scheduled to splashdown off the coast of San Diego
in the Pacific Ocean.
So to quickly recap,
teams are in the process of performing a vent and relief
test on the liquid hydrogen tank on the upper stage
following finishing their fast fill operations.
Again, this test is to just test the
the tanks that they can handle.
The, the pressure that will be,
happening during this first day of flight.
Following this test, it'll
we will then transition into our topping phase
on the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank.
And it will then transition to replenish
on the core stage.
Meanwhile, we are still in fast
fill for the liquid oxygen tank.
And we are in replenish for liquid hydrogen.
Now this is a very,
very big and important milestone to me because again,
for those that have been
following us along, especially with Artemis two,
during our fast fill operations on the core stage liquid
hydrogen tank during wet dress rehearsal one, that was our,
first test of this Artemis two moon rocket,
where we tested loading the propellants on board.
Teams experienced the liquid hydrogen leak
shortly after getting into fast build.
During that first test.
They then
performed the second wet dress rehearsal,
where they did not see any major leaks
tanking.
Loading operations went very smoothly
and it was a very successful test.
And so it's great to see
that throughout today's countdown for launch,
there also weren't any significant issues
or leaks reported
during our liquid hydrogen loading phase on the core stage.
So we are now in replenish mode for liquid hydrogen,
or about 84% of the way on the liquid oxygen tank.
And we're also almost there
on the upper stage for liquid hydrogen.
Now, I'll report out once liquid oxygen operations
for the upper stage are also underway.
Welcome back.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently seven hours and nine minutes and counting
from the opening of today's launch window for the Artemis
two mission.
Our Artemis
launch team is currently in the process of loading liquid
propellant onto the SLES, or Space
Launch System rocket.
Teams
just reported out that we are in our topping phase
for the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank.
This means we are almost at 100%,
if not pretty much there on that upper stage tank.
The upper stage is the second stage of the SLS rocket.
Here's a graphic representation where we can see
where we're currently at in our tanking operations.
That means we have now
finished loading our liquid hydrogen
on both the core stage and the upper stage.
As I said, we're in that topping phase to get us to 100%.
And afterwards will then
transition into replenish mode to stay at 100% level.
You can see on the core stage,
we are already at the replenish mode.
Have you see that 100% level right there?
And we also just got confirmation that we are also
in replenish for the upper stage liquid hydrogen tank.
Now on the liquid oxygen side we still have a little bit
to go.
We're almost we're almost there on the liquid oxygen
tank for the core stage.
You see roughly 92% of the way filled.
And we haven't started our liquid oxygen,
propellant loading operations on the upper stage.
Teams are getting ready to start chilling down that tank.
Teams do this to make sure that all of the systems
and lines are ready to receive these cryogenic temperatures.
As you can see on your screen, there, for hydrogen
to stay in a liquid state, it must be -423°F.
Oxygen, meanwhile, is -297°F.
So these super, super cold temperatures,
we want to make sure that the rocket
is able to receive them without damaging
any of the hardware on board.
So we'll start with chilling down
that, liquid oxygen tank in mind
before we actually start loading it onto the upper stage.
I'll report back
once that step is underway.
As a reminder, our launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
Eastern time this evening.
Teams do have a two hour launch window, so that means
if we don't launch right at 624, that is okay.
They still have additional opportunities
throughout that two hour launch window.
Now, NASA is providing 24 over seven live coverage
throughout this entire mission, beginning
with our propellant loading operations.
That is currently underway.
And as we continue our coverage this morning, we are also,
and we continue monitoring all of our loading operations.
We thank you for following us along.
Part of our live coverage will,
of course, include our launch this evening.
That live launch coverage for Artemis two will continue
right here at the beginning at approximately 12:50 p.m.
Eastern time.
You can continue watching on our NASA's YouTube channel
as well as on NASA.
Plus.
And the other NASA
social media channels.
Again,
we are providing 24 over seven live coverage.
So following launch, the show doesn't end there.
We have a ten day mission around the moon.
And then following that, we're coming back home
and we will be covering
all of those splashdown operations as well.
Artemis two is a test flight.
It is NASA's first crewed Artemis mission
we will be sending NASA astronauts,
read Wiseman, who serves as the commander,
Victor Glover, the pilot, and mission specialist.
Christina Cook.
And then we're also sending Canadian Space Agency astronaut
Jeremy Hansen,
who serves as the other mission specialist for this mission.
So to quickly recap, we are in replenish
for both liquid hydrogen tanks on the core stage
and the upper stage of our SLS, our Space
Launch System rocket.
And we are getting very close to being almost all the way
full on the liquid oxygen tank in the core stage.
I'll make sure to report out
once we start entering, topping for the liquid oxygen
tank in the core stage.
Again, that refers to the, the last little bit that is
needed to get us to a 100%.
And I'll also make sure to let folks know
when our chill down operations are in work on the upper stage.
Liquid oxygen tank.
As a reminder, all of this propellant
that is onboard these four tanks, of these two,
two rocket stages, they feed the engines that are underneath
and then provide the power and the push
to send the Orion spacecraft on its voyage
to the moon.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently six hours and 49 minutes
and counting from the opening
of today's launch window for NASA's Artemis two mission.
That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern time this evening,
and we do have a two hour launch window,
which means that if we don't launch
right at the start at 6:24 p.m., that is okay.
Teams still have
an additional two hours in which they can try to launch the SLS
or Space Launch System rocket, and the Orion spacecraft.
Now, the Artemis launch team is currently in the process
of loading cryogenic
or super cold liquid propellant onto the SLS rocket.
We are currently in what is called replenish
mode for our liquid hydrogen tanks on board the SLS core
stage and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
These are the two stages on the SLS rocket.
Now, replenish mode means that we have finished
loading hydrogen onboard both of these rock on board
both of these rocket.
That means they are at 100% level,
and teams are just constantly replenishing the tanks
to make sure that they stay at 100%
since as throughout the countdown, that liquid
propellant will start boiling off as it starts warming up,
and it will then be vented out and released from the rocket.
Which you can see there
on your screen.
Now, on the liquid oxygen side,
teams are now in topping phase for the core stage liquid oxygen
tank topping is the in-between state
of fast fill and replenish mode.
Fast fill is where we spend the most of the time.
Loading propellant.
We load it at a much faster rate.
Then once
we reach a certain point, we will transition into topping
to finish loading the tank to 100%.
That is now where we are currently at in the core stage
liquid oxygen tank
and following topping.
We then transition into replenish.
So we're in core stage liquid oxygen topping
or in topping for the core stage liquid oxygen tank.
And we are in replenish mode
for both tanks on the liquid hydrogen, for liquid hydrogen
on the core stage and the upper stage.
Now meanwhile, on the liquid oxygen
tank on the upper stage, teams just reported that they have now
started to chill down for that upper stage tank.
This is the first step that is needed
before we actually start flowing
and loading that propellant on board.
The reason this is done is to chill down the systems in line
so they are ready to receive those super cold temperatures
and not cause any potential damage
to the hardware.
For reference,
oxygen needs to be -297°F
to be in a liquid state, and hydrogen -423°F.
So very, very cold temperatures that the rocket is dealing with
right now.
Now again,
we are underway for the Artemis two mission.
This is the second
Artemis mission in the NASA's Artemis program.
Artemis one was an uncrewed test flight.
Artemis two will be the first crewed test flight.
This will be the first time
we send astronauts on board our Orion spacecraft.
We'll be sending our commander, Reed Wiseman, our pilot,
Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Cook
and Jeremy Hansen on a ten day mission around the moon.
Now, from the rocket side,
there aren't that many changes from Artemis one to Artemis two.
Most of the major sections of vessels really remain unchanged.
Some of the differences are more in the in the details.
To really just provide our astronauts with a better ride
in space.
Some of those include some optical targets
that are now on the upper stage as visual cues
during the proximity operation, demonstration.
This will be a test for the astronauts to practice
maneuvering Orion and practice approaching the upper stage
while it's in a high Earth orbit.
Another improvement for SLS
was an improved navigation system,
also communications capability between the ground stations
and the U.S space for space launch Delta 45,
which controls the Eastern Range
that is responsible for kind of helping dictate
when we are allowed to launch here
off the Space Coast in Florida.
Now, all of the four tanks on the upper stage
and the core stage, they feed the engines that are down below.
At liftoff, the four Rs 25 engines
will operate for the first eight minutes during flight,
the two solid rocket boosters that are on either side,
those operate for only two minutes,
and they provide 75% of the power at liftoff.
So to quickly recap, we are in replenish
for our both liquid hydrogen tanks.
We entered topping for the liquid oxygen
tank on the core stage.
That means very,
very soon we'll be in replenish mode for that tank as well.
And we are in our chill down operations for the liquid oxygen
tank on the upper stage.
Pretty soon we will be entering fast fill.
I'll report out when that is underway.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently six hours and 38 minutes and counting
from the opening of today's
launch window for the Artemis two mission.
That launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern time this evening, and teams do
have a two hour launch window
in which they can attempt to launch the SLS or the Space
Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.
The Artemis launch team is currently loading cryogenic
or super cold liquid propellant onto SLS.
We are
currently in replenish mode for both liquid hydrogen tanks
on the two stages of our SLS rocket.
We're still in our topping phase on the core stage
liquid oxygen tank.
That means we're just finishing it up.
You can see there it looks almost all the way full.
And following that, it will enter into
what is also into its replenish mode as well.
The liquid oxygen tank on the upper stage,
meanwhile, is now in fast fill.
So that means all four tanks
are now receiving propellant.
For. Following fast fill on the liquid oxygen
tank for the upper stage,
teams will perform that Benton relief test
that they also did for the liquid
hydrogen side on the upper stage.
This test is again just to test the
the relief capabilities to make sure
that the upper stage can handle the, the pressure.
And that will be introduced at liftoff and during launch.
Following that,
it will then enter topping
and will then go to replenish mode as well.
Once we are in replenish mode for all tanks,
that will be the signal to the launch team
to tell our astronauts
that they are ready to start heading out to the launch pad
and get on board their Orion spacecraft.
Now, Artemis two is a test flight,
and it is NASA's first
Artemis crewed mission.
That means this will be the first time that our astronauts
are Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission
specialists Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen.
They will be the first to experience launch and flight
atop SLS.
The rocket hits a maximum
speed of 22,670mph.
And our astronauts will get to experience the entire ride.
So to quickly recap,
we are in replenish mode for both liquid hydrogen tanks.
We are in topping, meaning we are finishing up
to, loading liquid oxygen on the core stage.
That is the first stage of the rocket,
and we are in fast fill
for the liquid oxygen tank on our second stage,
or that interim cryogenic propulsion stage.
I'll report out once
we have also entered replenish mode for the core stage.
Liquid oxygen tank.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently six hours and 22 minutes
and counting from the opening of today's launch window
for the Artemis two mission.
The launch team is currently in the process of loading
cryogenic or super cold liquid propellant onto the SLES
or the Space Launch System rocket.
We're currently in replenish mode for both liquid
hydrogen tanks on both the first stage
and the second stage of the rocket.
And then on the liquid oxygen side,
we are in fast fill
for the liquid oxygen tank on the upper stage.
And then we are getting ready to get into our replenish
mode for the liquid oxygen tank on the core stage.
We are still in that topping phase,
finishing loading the propellant
tank to 100%,
at which point then teams will transition into replenish
mode as well.
Which just means that we are going to constantly
be replenishing these tanks at 100% level.
Now, today's launch
window opens at 6:24 p.m..
Teams do have a two hour launch window,
which means if we don't launch right on time,
they do have an additional two hours
in which they can attempt to launch.
For those of you just joining us,
NASA will be providing 24 over seven live coverage
of this entire mission, starting with our propellant
loading operations that are currently underway.
Thank you so much for everyone
that's been following along.
Our live launch coverage of Artemis two will continue
right here, beginning at approximately 12:50 p.m..
Where the rest of my NASA commentators will be chiming
in on how the rest of today's countdown goes
and will take you through
the rest of the mission.
Now, Artemis two is a test flight.
It will be the first mission that sends
astronauts on board SLS
and Orion.
You can see
a photo on your screen there of our Artemis two crew.
We have our commander, Reed Wiseman, on the right hand side.
Then we have our two
mission specialists in the middle, Christina Cook
and then Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
All the way on the left is our pilot, Victor
Glover.
All four of them woke up
not too long ago, at around 9:25 a.m.
this morning.
Not a terrible wake up call.
And that time they've been getting ready,
having breakfast, getting some briefings.
And they'll get one more briefing.
It's the flight crew weather brief.
Well, they'll get a status on where we are in the countdown.
What the current forecast looks like.
Following that brief, they will then start their suit
up operations before they go out to the launch pad.
And board their spacecraft.
And teams that report that we have now entered
replenish mode for the core stage liquid oxygen tank.
So we are now in replenish for both liquid
hydrogen tanks on the core stage and the upper stage.
And we are also in replenish mode for the core stage.
Liquid oxygen tank.
On the upper stage liquid oxygen tank
meanwhile we are still in fast fill
and I'll report out once.
Then we transition from fast fill
until the next up,
which will again be that Benton relief test.
This is pressurizing the upper stage tanks
with helium
to test the relief capabilities that the tank pressure,
to make sure that it can handle that capability during flight.
Following that test,
teams will then start topping on the liquid oxygen tank
and will then, after topping,
will then transition into replenish mode as well.
I'll report out
when that's underway.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently
six hours and eight minutes and counting from the opening
of today's launch window for the Artemis two mission.
Now, the launch window opens at 6:24 p.m.
eastern time
this evening, and teams do have a two hour launch window,
which means that they have two hours
in which they can try to launch the flares
or the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft
that will send NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman,
Victor Glover, Christina Cook
and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy
Hansen on a ten day mission around the moon and back.
Now, the launch team is
currently in the process of loading cryogenic or super
cold liquid propellant onto the SLS rocket.
The propellants that are used to power
SLS are liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
We are currently in our replenish phase
for both liquid hydrogen tanks on the two phases of the rock.
On the two stages of the rocket that is both the core stage
and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion stage.
Replenish mode just basically means that now
these tanks are at 100% level, and teams are going
to constantly be replenishing them as they as
they start to warm up and boil off,
you can see some of that gas that's
being vented off the rocket there.
That's normal.
Teams totally expect to see that.
And because of that, we have
then a replenish valve to constantly be replenishing
the tank with that liquid propellant.
So we make sure that we are 100% level and we're not losing
any propellants in the tank.
The reason
that you see some of that
venting happening is because as we get throughout the countdown
and the temperatures start to rise,
that liquid propellant will become a gas.
And so it will start boiling off
and then it will vent outside the rocket.
Hence the need for a replenish valve.
So we are in replenish for both liquid hydrogen tanks.
We are also in replenish for the core stage
liquid oxygen tank.
And we are in fast fill for the upper stage
or that interim cryogenic propulsion stage.
Liquid oxygen tank.
Now fast bill is the main portion of our
propellant loading operations, where teams are actively loading
that propellant at a much faster rate.
Now, following fast fill, teams transition
into what is called topping.
As the name suggests,
it just means the top off the tanks.
And then following topping we enter
what is replenish.
So once we are at replenish
for the liquid oxygen tank on the interim
cryogenic propulsion stage, we're going to enter
what is called all stages in replenish.
This means that all four tanks
on the SLS rocket are fully fueled,
and our astronauts are ready then to go
and head out to the launch pad when they get the go
from our launch director, Charlie Blackwell Thompson.
Now, coming up
shortly, the, our astronauts will be, joining
in on a flight crew weather brief with our launch director
as well as with the flight director in Houston
and the, the launch weather officer.
They will provide a quick status on how the forecast looks
for the rest of today's countdown,
as well as where we currently are in our countdown operations.
A little earlier, the launch weather officer did
let our launch director know that we might get some showers
in about two hours.
However, there is no lightning threat
and they will plan on discussing this again during the flight.
Crew weather brief.
Currently, teams
are forecasting 80% go for weather conditions
during that two hour launch window.
So again, to quickly recap, we are in replenish
mode for both liquid hydrogen tanks.
We are also in a replenish mode on the liquid oxygen
tank on the core stage.
That is the first stage of the SLS rocket.
And we're in fast fill for the liquid oxygen
tank on the upper stage.
I'll report out when we have transitioned
from fast fill and on to topping.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently five hours and 42 minutes
and counting from the opening
of today's launch window for the Artemis two mission.
That launch window officially opens at 6:24 p.m.
Eastern Time, and teams
do have a two hour launch window,
which means that they have
additional opportunities if they don't meet the beginning
of that window.
Now, joining
me is Artemis launch director, Charlie Blackwell Thompson.
Charlie, thank you so much for taking
the time to speak with us today.
Oh, you're more than welcome.
It's great to be here, Tony.
It sure is.
Now, we know that, you just conducted a flight crew
weather brief with our astronauts,
as well as teams and,
mission control and our launch weather officer.
Do you mind providing us
kind of how that went and, and what we can expect?
Yes. The weather brief went really well.
What we do during that weather
brief is we give the flight crew
a summary of where we are in our tanking, what's left?
And of course, we have our core stage and our upper stage
fully loaded with two, and we're in replenish.
And we are just finishing up
our, low to or liquid oxygen load into the upper stage.
We provided that status, along with any,
non-conformists that the crew might be interested in.
And, and then we went through the weather.
And so our weather from our launch weather officer,
remains at a, 80%, likelihood of go today
and a 20% chance of violation, we are watching some precip
that is making its way toward the pad, but,
we expect that that is going to dissipate
as we get closer to the opening of our window.
So, really good, to hear the crew's voices
and to talk through, day of launch ops.
You know, it's something that we simulate,
but there's nothing like the real day.
Absolutely. I can only imagine.
And it's great news to hear that we are still 80% go.
Those are very, very favorable conditions.
Let's hope it stays that way.
You mentioned we're getting closer to reaching
what is called all stages in, stable replenish.
That means that we will have all four tanks at 100%
flight level.
Charlie, can you walk us through then
what are some of those upcoming milestones
once we reach all stages, replenish?
Absolutely.
So one of the big milestones when you reach stable, replenish
on all the,
all stages is, you begin to send the closeout
crew into the pad.
And so we're just a few minutes away from, getting into that,
and the
will deploy them to the pad and they'll start getting ready
for the flight crew.
And then, of course, shortly after
that is the exciting milestone of seeing the crew
walk out of the operations and checkout building
and make their way to the pad.
And that's certainly something that,
we've been waiting a very long time to see.
It's going to be very exciting,
I think, for certainly for our team, it'll be exciting for
our country and it'll be exciting for people
all over the world who are watching, our crew
head to the pad
knowing that we are just
about five hours or so from from launch. It.
You couldn't have said it any better.
This is very exciting for the entire world.
We cannot wait for that moment when we see the, our astronauts
depart the crew quarters and head to the pad.
Charlie, thank you so much for taking the chance to,
to speak with us today. We are rooting for you.
We're wishing you
the best of luck in today's countdown,
and we'll let you get back on console all right. Thank you.
Tony, appreciate the opportunity to chat with you.
And, Go, Artemis. Go. Artemus.
All right, so to quickly
recap, we are in replenish mode for both liquid hydrogen tanks.
And we are getting ready to also hit replenish
mode on the liquid oxygen tanks for both of those,
we'll we will report out when that is underway.
This is Artemis launch control.
We are currently five hours and 37 minutes and counting
from the opening of today's launch window
for NASA's Artemis two mission.
Now, the launch team is currently in the process
of loading cryogenic or liquid propellant onto the SLS rocket.
You see, our launch team,
they're in Firing room one, and you actually can see
our NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman.
He just joined the room
to greet our launch director, Charlie Blackwell Thompson,
and our assistant launch director, Jeremy Graver.
Now to quickly recap,
we started our propellant loading operations at 8:35 a.m.
Eastern time.
That was after
we had, chilled down the, the core stage systems lines.
And after we had been given the go from our launch
director to start our tanking operations.
So after 835, we started again, slow fill
a little bit.
After that, at 925, our astronauts got their
scheduled wake up call.
Following slow fill on the core stage.
We then transitioned into fast fill.
Once we were in fast fill for the core stage,
we then started our upper stage loading operations.
We started first with hydrogen.
Started chilling down the liquid hydrogen
tank on the upper stage at roughly 9:36 a.m.,
and then we got into fast fill at 9:51 a.m..
Following that,
we entered.
Then our topping phase on the core stage
liquid hydrogen tank
topping refers to finishing up
that last little bit to get to 100%,
and then we transitioned into replenish.
We did the same thing for the core stage liquid oxygen
tank,
as well as for the liquid hydrogen tank on the upper
stage.
Now all that's left is to enter replenish mode
for the liquid oxygen tank on our upper stage,
and we will enter what is called all stages.
Replenish.
This means that now all four tanks
will be at 100% level.
Once we reach this stage,
this will be the signal for our launch team
to let our astronauts know that they have the clear to enter
the launch pad and go and enter their spacecraft.
As a reminder, NASA is
providing 24 over seven live coverage of this mission.
We started this morning at 7:45 a.m.
and ran you through our tanking loading operations,
and we will continue to do so
throughout the rest of today's launch countdown.
We will be beginning our live coverage
in just a few minutes for that launch,
and the rest of our commentators
will make sure to take you along through today's countdown.
You can see on your screen there how to watch.
And as our launch director
just recently said, when she came on air,
let's go. Artemis two.