Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Anyone else making a date for tomorrow?

The first window opens at 624pm EDT, or 1124 uk time.

Then it’s about 4 days before it starts getting really interesting at the lunar twist.

I have to wait 10 seconds after it launches to go outside and watch it.


Launch date: NET April 1, 2026, 22:24:00 UTC (18:24:00 EST)
Location: Launch Complex 39B - Kennedy Space Center – Source
Mission duration: 10 days (planned)
Spacecraft: Orion CM-003 Integrity; ESM-2

Nice

 Flinty wrote:
Nice

I remember going outside for school and watching the Shuttle launches (even Challenger ).

Our house would shake from the twin sonic booms of shuttles returning. It was surreal sometimes.

But what if the Moon is haunted? Do they have appropriate ghost busting equipment?

 Gert wrote:
But what if the Moon is haunted? Do they have appropriate ghost busting equipment?

Go lookup some of the old Far Side of the Moon conspiracies dealing with Neil Armstrong... they get really out there.

So, how’s the weather looking for the launch?

And if memory serves, Artemis 2 is just going to but not landing on the moon. That job is for Artemis 3?

 Gert wrote:
But what if the Moon is haunted? Do they have appropriate ghost busting equipment?

It's an often forgotten movie, but I suggest you watch Apollo 18. Plot: found footage videos of the "covered up" Apollo 18 mission (real life ended at 17) that goes sideways, especially after finding an abandoned Soviet lander that was also covered up. Movie explains (in their universe) why we stopped going to the Moon.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
So, how’s the weather looking for the launch?

And if memory serves, Artemis 2 is just going to but not landing on the moon. That job is for Artemis 3?

Last I saw was cloudy, but with a good chance of launch today.

And yes, they will be doing a single loop around the moon and straight back. Various tests and fiddling to be done with all the systems on the way there and back. They have 10 days to play with after all.

Astronauts are on their way to the rocket. So whilst I’m aware a launch can be aborted right up to the last second? It’s looking positive.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Aaaand away!

From my home. Kinda cloudy.

That...was tense. Nice shot there Lathe.

That was neat. Happy it was a clean launch.

This really is emotional. In the early noughties I got into astronomy and just thought that the Moon made more sense than Mars - at least in the near future...which is right now!

Feeling very inspired. Great sharing this moment with you all.

Also the first manned lunar mission in my lifetime. And I’m no spring chicken.

Was genuinely thrilling to watch.

Perigee raise burn is done, the translunar insertion burn is next at about 0030 BST.

Nicely, the first chunk of lunar observation time is between 1930 and 2330 on Easter Monday, so very convenient. unlike splashdown which is like 2am

A bit past my bedtime I'm very sad to say, but the observation time is agreeable.

Apparently they're all having a nap at the moment.

So odd. All the times are perfectly reasonable at my home.

I wanted to watch it.
Sadly I had other commitments. :(

Now when we actually set foot back on the moon, THAT I will clear the schedule to watch.

Seems like a few more years before we get to that. Artemis 3 is an earth orbit test of a descent module, either Space-x or Blue Origin’s offering, or possibly both. The. They need to build a production one, preposition it and only then pootle out there to meet it and drop to the surface floor Artemis 4 at the earliest.

I heard commentators saying the plan for the landing mission is 2028 but we know how things get pushed back sometimes. Let's hope NASA can get whatever kinks ironed out so that schedule happens.

 Flinty wrote:
Seems like a few more years before we get to that. Artemis 3 is an earth orbit test of a descent module, either Space-x or Blue Origin’s offering, or possibly both. The. They need to build a production one, preposition it and only then pootle out there to meet it and drop to the surface floor Artemis 4 at the earliest.

Yep, & like I said, when that's set to happen I'll make sure to have a clear schedule.
Not unlike waiting for a movie that you know is a few years away.

And I get grumpy and impatient about that as well

On Kim Stanley Robinson’s timeline there should have been a mars landing this year!

 Flinty wrote:
And I get grumpy and impatient about that as well

On Kim Stanley Robinson’s timeline there should have been a mars landing this year!

On the Star Trek timeline we should be about to enjoy WW3.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 Flinty wrote:
And I get grumpy and impatient about that as well

On Kim Stanley Robinson’s timeline there should have been a mars landing this year!

On the Star Trek timeline we should be about to enjoy WW3.

Always fun to review the futures of past fiction just to see how widely we missed the mark. Near future cyberpunk and/or post apoc setting are the best for that.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 Flinty wrote:
And I get grumpy and impatient about that as well

On Kim Stanley Robinson’s timeline there should have been a mars landing this year!

On the Star Trek timeline we should be about to enjoy WW3.

In The Terminator's timeline, we should be right smack in the middle of fighting Skynet.

Adjacent to one of my favourite facts, British troops have been fighting a clandestine battle against Skynet since 1969. Mostly on the “why does this stupid machine not work” side of things most likely, but still

Nothing so mundane, old bean.

Britain did what Britain does. Saw a threat, and nicked it for ourselves.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWzzbT6jOS0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Time Lapse Moon views from Artemis.

This whole thing has been so exciting! I've loved seeing all the pictures from it, especially the new edition of the famous "Earthrise" photo (they just had to do their own version of that iconic photo from Apollo 8).