Artemis II: Translunar injection burn successfully completed

[0:00] when the engine ignites you embark on humanity's lunar homecoming arc and set the course to return [0:06] integrity and her crew safely home houston is go for tli that was mission control just a few [0:26] moments ago we are just seconds away from a critical next step in the historic artemis moon [0:30] mission 24 hours after lifting off the four astronauts on board are set to trigger an engine [0:37] that will blast them toward the moon let's listen in to nasa tv continuing to hear good reports from [0:59] the flight controllers here artemis mission control in houston we've been listening to nasa tv and the [1:26] controllers there reporting uh what the latest is on this spacecraft i want to bring in astrophysicist [1:32] hakim olushe and retired nasa astronaut aerospace engineer and commander of two space shuttle [1:39] missions susan kilrain thank you so much for for joining me once again this is an incredible [1:44] moment here we are just seconds away from knowing exactly that orion is coasting toward the moon it [1:52] is on track we know that the crew is expected to conduct system evaluations checkouts and [1:58] demonstrations hakim i'd like to start with you this is humanity venturing to deep space artemis [2:05] 2 marks the first around this first journey to the to visit the moon since apollo 17. talk to us a [2:14] little bit about that [2:14] about what makes this mission different above planet earth this mission is different in so [2:20] many ways the stakes are different the motivations are different and ultimately this is going to [2:26] establish a permanent human presence on the moon on the orbital maneuvering services engine [2:34] and susan i'd like to bring you into this conversation you are a former astronaut you [2:38] have been through this before what are you watching for as you listen to a live view from [2:45] the past and then actually we're going to listen in here and see what they're talking about right [2:58] now we're just under a minute as artemis 2 makes its final push toward the moon susan what are you [3:06] thinking right now as we watch this you know this is new stuff i mean we haven't done this since the [3:14] 50s so it's very close until translunar injection burns start apparently we are just 10 seconds away [3:20] let's listen in integrity good engine good control at met mission elapsed time of one day one hour and [3:54] to the Artemis II mission. As Orion was flying 115 statute miles above Earth and 247,600 miles [4:05] away from the moon, we have the start of the trans-lunar injection burn that will send the [4:09] crew around the moon, the first humans to do so in over 50 years. Again, this will be a 5 minute [4:23] and 50, 5-0 second burn on the Orbital Maneuvering Service engine, part of the European Service [4:29] Module. Continuing to hear good calls here from Prop in Artemis Mission Control in Houston, Texas. [4:43] Integrity, looking good. Velocity of the spacecraft ticking up now over 23,900 miles per hour. [5:17] Two minutes into this 5 minute and 50, 5-0 second burn. Continuing to get good calls here in Mission [5:40] Control Houston from all flight controllers. Integrity, we copy the enabled caution, [5:45] no crew action. The crew did receive a caution on their screen. [5:59] And have no action at this time. We continue to burn the trans-lunar injection burn. [6:04] We've been listening to NASA TV. Artemis II astronauts are about to trigger an engine that [6:26] will blast them toward the moon. We've heard controllers there at the control center saying [6:32] we are one day, one hour and minutes into this mission. The spacecraft traveling at a speed of [6:38] about 23,000 miles per hour. First humans to head to the moon in more than 50 years. Controllers [6:46] are creating the first [6:56] warning orders toward astronauts. [6:59] This is a truly powerful message. [7:08] And here's the latest. [7:09] The Earth is a shootout. [7:11] The crew is already busy considering a mission that will kill astronauts. The crew working to [7:16] and the whole goal of the burn is to reach escape velocity of 25,000 miles [7:23] per hour mark into the burn quiet here and we are looking at a live picture of [7:28] earth right now Susan as you're looking at these images what can we expect to [7:34] see when that engine is triggered well and I believe that they're in the burn [7:43] and what we'll see mostly is that the earth will actually start to get smaller [7:49] in the camera as they are quickly accelerating away from our planet what [8:00] it's a process like right now for the astronauts on board this spacecraft what [8:05] are the motions that they're going through as they're performing performing [8:11] this trans lunar event well they're feeling the acceleration you know [8:16] they've been [8:17] weightless [8:17] for 24 hours and now they're feeling an acceleration as the vehicle accelerates [8:25] towards the moon they're probably sitting and and holding on so that they [8:31] don't you Ryan as it looks back on earth and begins its journey to the moon [8:35] they're waiting for a good cut off of the engine and systems are go I believe [8:43] we're about just one minute away from the burn we're gonna listen in again to [8:47] NASA TV NASA [8:50] we've just heard this is the final major burn for this mission Susan as you [8:58] hear [8:58] these controllers and people discuss this [9:04] what do you think is going or what do you think the Battle of the Buccaneering [9:35] Exchange will look like [9:37] well I guess as you we've all seen the [9:52] entrance we've all now the [9:55] turb tops [9:57] and the [9:57] direction they've taken and [10:01] they're EXTREMELY [10:02] 報HSeeING [10:02] are we hearing the voices of the astronauts we we were we've also heard a voice or say confirming [10:09] integrity is that are those the astronauts communicating with the with the control center [10:17] that's right that was reed uh responding back uh confirming what the call up to them was so [10:25] uh the ground will say integrity houston or just integrity and start talking and then at the end [10:31] one of the crew members will respond um integrity concurs or roger from integrity so yes it's about [10:40] it's a two-way conversation the capcom is also an astronaut a trained astronaut uh speaking to [10:47] the crew uh at all times so it's just two astronauts talking to each other one just [10:54] happens to be on earth and all of them very calm i will say everyone is very calm in this process [11:03] that's the nature of it do you see that image susan what are we looking at right here is that's [11:08] the earth to the left and what are we so what's that to the right the sun the sun okay okay yeah [11:16] getting further away and the sun is shining on the earth it's also shining on integrity and we [11:25] are off-headed towards the moon and the sun is is pivotal in this mission because the solar arrays [11:33] require almost constant sunlight to power the vehicle incredible this it walk us through this [11:44] trans-lunar injection that we are witnessing basically right now the trans-lunar injection [11:51] is basically it's going it the burn the trans-lunar injection burn serves two purposes [11:59] one it oriented orients orion towards the moon [12:04] on the right path and it accelerates and jcu's basically [12:05] the moon domain so nine times how fast will the sun hit the moon? It will need five seconds because zero of time [12:06] to the lunar Instrument question because there are grown last count the yummy cool time limit wage [12:07] also 무� 보시면 choice the problem in and accelerating travel another J U R E N T P A l edit 감 the solutions the [12:07] rates Orion to 25,000 miles per hour, which is the speed the vehicle needs in order to escape [12:15] the Earth's velocity. If it doesn't, you know, if it didn't get that fast, it couldn't go to the [12:20] moon. It would still be held on by Earth's gravity. So we've achieved that velocity. It's off to the [12:28] moon and it is done perfectly with the geometry and orbital mechanics so that it will slow down [12:35] at some point, start slowing down as it curves right around the moon, and then it'll speed right [12:43] back up to return to Earth. And all of it going smoothly right now. Susan Kilrain, thank you very [12:50] much, Susan, for your insights. We'll check in with you again. And Hakeem Olusewi, thank you [12:55] very much as well for hanging in there with us. Good evening, everyone. I'm Stephanie Ramos in [13:11] for Lindsay Davis. Thank you so much for streaming with us. It's official. The Artemis 2 crew has [13:16] fired its engine to make their final push [13:18] toward the moon. This means their ship, Orion, is on a free return trajectory that will carry [13:25] it around the far side of the moon and back to Earth, all assisted by gravity. When the engine [13:31] ignites, you embark on humanity's lunar homecoming arc and set the course to return integrity and her [13:38] crew safely home. Houston is go for TLI. Crew, with this bird, leave Earth. We do not leave Earth. We [13:56] choose it. Just an incredible moment in this incredible moment, just coming 24 hours after [14:02] this spectacular launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Take a look at this new video from NASA [14:07] of the launch coming from a camera attached to the Artemis 2 Space Launch System rocket. Now, [14:13] this is the first crewed journey around the moon in more than 50 years. It's a 10-day mission going [14:19] deeper into space than anyone has ever gone before. They'll travel to the far side of the moon before [14:25] coming back to Earth. Their goal, to prepare the way for future flights that will land astronauts [14:32] on the moon, who will build a permanent base there. Let's bring back astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi [14:37] and retired NASA astronaut and aerospace engineer Susan Kilrain. Thank you so much to both of you for [14:44] joining me. What an exciting evening once again, two nights in a row. With the first time in more [14:50] than 50 years, we are now on a trajectory around the moon and back. We just saw that great burn [14:55] tonight. Hakeem and Susan, Hakeem, I'll start with you. What must these astronauts be feeling right now? [15:04] I can't imagine what they're feeling, right? It has to be a mix of excitement. But, you know, [15:08] these astronauts have been trained and they have a duty to perform. So I'm sure they're thinking [15:13] about both, right? They're experiencing the moment, but at the same time, they're trying to stay [15:18] focused on the job that they have to do. And, you know, whenever, you know, when you think about [15:22] this, when you're in low Earth orbit, you're going at least 17,500 miles per hour. And you [15:29] have to leave that orbit around Earth in a precise way to make it to the moon, [15:34] right? And they're pulling off all of these maneuvers down to the exact specification. So [15:39] this is going so well, they must be excited right now. But of course, they won't feel relief until [15:44] they're safely back on Earth. Absolutely. And Susan, this trans lunar injection, we were speaking [15:51] earlier, you were mentioning how it serves two purposes. Walk us through that and where we are [15:56] right now in this process. Right, Stephanie, we had come down to only a little bit more than 100 [16:06] miles. And then this burn is coming down from two things, send it towards the moon in the right path, [16:14] and it's going to accelerate to escape velocity of 25,000 miles per hour. And that's what's going [16:22] to get it out of Earth's gravity. Let's listen into the control center right now. They are [16:27] celebrating right now. Let's listen into their chatter. We're now over 1,000. Integrity, [16:35] two minutes until a TDRS West. [16:37] Now over 1,500 miles away from our planet, that distance continuing to increase. You can keep [17:08] track of Orion's distance from the Earth and to the moon at any time by visiting nasa.gov slash [17:14] track Artemis. We are currently 242,800 miles away from the moon and continuing to get closer. We [17:23] will do so until flight day six when we make our closest approach during the lunar flyby. [17:28] So you just heard that. [17:35] I just heard the controllers there say the crew, the spacecraft is about 1,500 miles away from Earth, [17:42] the distance increasing and 242,000 miles away, an average, away from the moon. Susan, [17:51] as you're listening to this, is everything going according to plan? [17:55] Absolutely. Everything is going as well as anyone could have hoped. I know that they're all business [18:05] except I am sure there were some [18:07] some celebrations, some high fives up in Orion. This is a historic day. [18:15] It definitely is, and they've been mentioning the speed. The spacecraft is traveling at a [18:24] tremendous speed, but you mentioned that it will slow down as it gets closer to the moon. [18:30] Walk us through that. [18:31] Yeah, it will slow down. It has to slow down. That's the only way it can really do its whole [18:40] that it is planned for but the main thing is to get to our escape velocity of 25 000 miles an hour [18:49] that's what gets orion out of the pool of gravity from earth and then it will slingshot around the [18:58] moon because you have all the gravity gravity is all working together of all the bodies up there [19:04] and it's the orbital mechanics is calculated precisely so it can follow the path that you see [19:11] on the screen there where it's going to head off to the moon and slingshot around and that's done [19:18] by gravity there are no real engine burns of any significance from here on out and hakeem i'd like [19:28] to bring you back into this conversation this is a 10 day mission we are on day two we know [19:33] the spacecraft orion is [19:35] heading headed toward the moon uh the crew will conduct a number of evaluations checkouts and [19:41] demonstrations we know by day five there will be that lunar flyby talk to us a little bit about [19:47] what's ahead in this very next phase yeah so one thing that's really interesting for the scientists [19:54] that they've been working with is the geology of the far side of the moon this mission has been [20:00] timed so that they will arrive at a time when that far side is going to be illuminated by the sun [20:06] so they're going to be able to see the far side of the moon and they're going to be able to see the [20:06] far side of the moon they've been um trained on particular features to look for and you know to [20:13] get their bearings on exactly what part of the moon they're looking at and to look for specific [20:17] geological features and there are believe it or not lots of mysteries still remaining about the [20:22] moon about its formation and about its current state we know the far side geologically is very [20:28] different from the near side and you know although there have been lots of models presented to [20:32] understand that we still really aren't conclusively sure so [20:36] you know the science that they're doing the engineering that they're doing they're ramping [20:40] all of that up and that's what's going to occur over the next four to five days and around day [20:45] five is when orion will fly approximately 4 600 miles beyond the far side of the moon is that [20:52] right let's talk a little bit about that once they're in that area and also their return and [20:58] re-entry what does that look like oh yeah well once they're at the moon and go beyond the moon [21:04] you know talk about giving each other high fives [21:07] think about that you will be the human beings that have traveled the farthest away from planet [21:13] earth if nothing i mean that is something worth celebrating that's like you know going warp drive [21:19] for the first time right you know um you've gone farther than any human has ever gone before but [21:25] you know coming back they're gonna get back to business and when they get to the point of re-entry [21:30] if you remember with artemis one there were some issues with the heat tiles right they you know [21:37] they were losing material a little bit at a time in a process called ablation there were some tiles [21:43] that lost chunks right so uh nasa has focused on engineering to make sure they don't have those [21:49] kind of problems before they did sort of a skip maneuver where they hit the atmosphere bounced [21:53] off and went back in they think that that tile damage may have to do with that you know air [21:59] getting in those tiles and then going back into space and out gassing expanding so now they have a [22:05] different re-entry process [22:07] so you know they're doing a lot of things if not everything for the very first time absolutely [22:14] incredible and thrilling to watch hakeem and susan thank you so much we now know that the orion fired [22:20] its engine tonight to head toward the moon on a path that swings around it and uses the moon's [22:24] gravity like a slingshot to bring that spacecraft back to earth incredible thank you both thank you