Godspeed, Artemis (which is filled with Hornet drivers)
NASA/Bill Ingalls
It looks like we are closer than ever to NASA’s 322-foot-tall Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft to lift off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center.
Commander (Navy Capt.) Reid Wiseman, Pilot (Navy Capt.) Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, along with Mission Specialist (RCAF Capt) Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, are set for a 10-day mission around the Moon and back.
Interestingly, three of the four (all but Koch) are F-18 pilots, with both Glover and Wiseman being Naval Aviators who logged combat hours with VFAs from carriers. Meanwhile, Hansen stood QRA with the RCAF’s now-disbanded 441st TFS on NORAD tasking out of Cold Lake. Of note, the RCAF motto is Sic Itur Ad Astra (“Such is the pathway to the stars”), which tracks.
Two with Wings of Gold! Official crew portrait for Artemis II, from left: NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Wiseman, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Josh Valcarcel/NASA
They have a heady task ahead.
It will be the first time Artemis and Orion are on a manned mission.
It will be the largest moon mission in terms of crew, with the Apollo trips having three members.
Although they are just sling-shotting around it and not landing, it will be the first time a spacefaring crew has gone to the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972– back when analog technology and slide rules were standard.
NASA expects that on 6 April, Artemis II will break Apollo 13’s record of 248,655 miles from Earth, making its four humans the furthest-traveled in known history.
Finally, when they come back home, they will reenter the atmosphere in excess of 25,000 mph, the fastest humans have done such a feat. Now that last tidbit is the pucker factor in an expedition filled with pucker factors.
You can watch the launch live on NASA’s YouTube channel with a targeted launch time of 6:24 p.m. EST on Wednesday.