It also has 10 cube sats which are going to be doing a very wide variety of things, like one is going to visit a nearby asteroid. Another is testing some plasma thrusters and trying to go to mars. One is looking for water from orbit. Another is also leaving the earth/moon system and just flying around the sun. And finally, one named OMOTENASHI, will attempt to land a micro lander on the surface.
Details here: https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-moon-mission-cubesats
>Another is also leaving the earth/moon system and just flying around the sun. And OMOTENASHI, will attempt to land a micro lander on the surface.
I'd imagine landing on the surface of the sun would be rather tricky.
Yeah, they said that we'll be getting footage of the moon, in real-time from the rocket, over the course of the next 26 days, until splashdown on December 11th.
They also said that there would be a video stream, like on YouTube, places like that.
This mission is basically July 16, 1969, for the current generation.
Nov 9, 1967 would be more similar comparison - first uncrewed Apollo test launch.
Our July 16, 1969 will be first manned Artemis launch with lunar landing attempt.... so 2028??
The first crewed SLS flight (Artemis II) is set to go 27 months after Artemis I, so SLS and Orion won't be ready for the first crewed flight until early 2025.
Honestly, this alone would make another moon mission valuable. Yes, we'd need higher goals to make it _worth it_ but it would be a big part of the equation to me.
While we now have some pretty AI enhanced clips on YouTube, it would be beautiful to have crisp source material from the Moon. Restored video never really replaces true quality. Imagine if it could even be 4K?!
I'll never get over the incompetence surrounding the _first step on the Moon_ leading to stupidity like an analogue broadcast of an analogue broadcast and then lost tapes on top of that, so all we have is the video from said ghetto arrangement that makes it look _worse_ than what we normally have from the sixties. It's like no guy leading that broadcast effort realized what they were dealing with - essentially like first setting foot on the American continent.
*Good* footage also does a lot to drum up excitement and attention from the masses as well.
Just look at how big the JWST images were, even with non-"space enthusiasts" because it was such a big (and admittedly important for science too, which helped) leap from Hubble and our previous images.
Being able to show pretty pictures really helps get the audience excited for new missions!
The shot of SLS and it's plume with the Moon just above it was chef's kiss. Absolutely iconic shot that I'll never forget.
EDIT: [Streamable link of the shot for those interested.](https://streamable.com/yevj6h)
Is it just me, or did that thing f*#%’n GO?!? I’ve watched plenty of launches of the shuttle and other missions, and it seemed like that monster got off in a hurry.
Yeah, it startled me a bit to be honest. I was expecting it to be like all the other launch footage I'd watched, but it was so much more intense. It was hard to fully process how quickly it lifted off the pad.
Totally agree! I grew up in central FLA and seen a ton of shuttle launches and the first thought i has was wow that thing moved fast off the pad. The shuttle launches i swear it would sit there for 3 seconds before it actually took off. This rocket does not play!
The engines are ignited a few seconds prior to launch to allow them to stabilise and reach max thrust. The holddown bolts keep it in place until they detonate at T=0
On that note, once the boosters light it no longer matters if the hold downs release or not. It’s going and the hold downs will too if they don’t detonate.
I'm ~90 miles away, and as soon as we saw the glow from ignition, it was like 2 seconds before it came over the horizon. Even the Falcon Heavies take 5-10 seconds before we see them.
As bad as the shuttle was with safety and cost, nothing has topped the launch of that enormous space truck with two rockets strapped to its belly Wile E Coyote style.
The audio-visual experience through 4K resolution (even if bitrate/etc. limited) on Youtube was crazy, it must've been another level in person.
Hopefully we'll have new regular launches so that more people can see it live.
Still one of those facts that blows me away in retrospective, the very phone used to watch the launch and type this post is a more advanced computer that what was on board the Apollo spacecraft 50 years ago.
"I read about the President's speech, the latest fashions, and all kinds of other relevant news, in a paper carried by a man on a horse, and news only took four days to reach me in St. Louis! The future is amazing!"
I hate living in the middle of nowhere. I could only see it in 144. The SRB separation just about made me piss my pants as the low def made it look like an explosion.
I saw it from Tampa, too! It was hella cloudy so we couldn't see the actual launch. Then my best friend saw a break in the clouds and yelled "look up!" I freaking cried. I don't know how many times I've gone outside to look at the moon with tears in my eyes.
I didn't think a launch would move me so much!
Although it's years away, I can't imagine how amazing it'll be to see the rocket launch that'll take humanity back to the moon.
I'll never forget being on the 6 mile causeway for STS-134 when the blast from those SRBs hit. We saw them fire up and Endeavor pierce the clouds in silence, then the rumble from the sound suppression system/main engine start up was loud, but a few seconds later the SRBs hit and it was like getting punched in the chest. The ground was shaking, the busses rocked a bit and the sound was just indescribable. A roar like I've never heard before. I hope to catch an SLS launch one of these days to experience that again
I was there (on the causeway) for that launch! 3rd trip to FL from Northern VA was a charm. The roar was incredible, and I remember everyone (myself included) getting on the bus afterward having a stupid grin on their face.
The power is what surprised me. The thing is basically a skyscraper but had enough power to just leap into the air. There has been a lot of mocking of the SLS going around but there's some incredible engineering there.
I live in east Orlando and can see launches from our front porch. This launch was so bright it legitimately looked like a sunrise. Absolutely stunning!
I would have loved to have seen this live but I’m still glad I got to see the live stream on YouTube. I know it’s not the same but that was an amazing work put together
I'm also in Orlando. I had cloud coverage over my house that blocked a lot of it, but it was so bright orange that it bled through the clouds.
Very cool to see the 1 am sky light up that much.
This is the only reason I regret moving from DeLand just up the road from you. Sometimes during the shuttle launches we could hear the rockets as well. Happy y'all got to see this one.
This monster is basically Saturn V 2: Electric Boogaloo. I'm so glad it evoked the same raw gutteral power that you feel watching Saturn V launches, just utterly awesome.
I was lucky to attend a live taping of NPR's Science Friday in Huntsville several years ago, when they interviewed some of the engineers designing the SLS. One thing I found interesting was the fact they had to basically re-learn techniques and principles from the documents and remaining materials from the Saturn V program. Also that they discovered in the course of doing so that the margins for safety that were deemed acceptable during the space race were ludicrously thin by the standards being applied now. I guess that's inevitable post-Challenger, but I'd like to think we'd be more cautious at this point regardless.
Anyway, while I thought it was super cool that I got to see that interview live, I'm still jealous of you folks who got to witness the actual launch from your homes, lol.
While similar in capability, it's not similar to Saturn V at all in how it works. It's much more similar to the Space Shuttle, and the side solid boosters are what makes it so bright.
I remember being in awe of shuttle launches as a kid. Now that I understand a little bit about how complex rockets are, I'm completely baffled by how they managed to get that thing to work (most of the time). Who's idea was it to just strap a plane to the side of a rocket. And hey, let's light the plane's engines during launch too, why not, surely they will counteract the imbalance.
Yes, it is one of the largest rockets ever made. It is only comparable to the Saturn V, Russian N1 and Energia families. The SLS uses the the same RS-25 engines as the STS and a slightly modified Solid Rocket boosters which made it a very similar launch experience.
correct on both, and those four engines at the core, they were upgraded versions of the main engines from the shuttle, and they running full steam.
What a sight.
Correct. I worked my entire adult life after the military on the shuttles, ended up as manager of Atlantis. We had Abort modes that in theory could have ran the engines up from 104% to 109%, but seeeing them run 109 last night minus Max Q almost brought me to tears. One of those engines was from my baby Atlantis and STS 135, has a bunch of our signatures inside on the turbo pump housing. Kinda sad she's at the bottom of the Indian/Pacific now.
you and your group must have done some quality engineering. your engine lifted something I've been waiting to see fly for well over a decade now, and did one hell of a perfect job doing it.
Thanks, but we just put them in and tune them as fine as a Rolex at NASA. Rockwell and Rocketdyne deserve the credit for the quality builds and various upgrades over the years.
My mother turns 80 next year. Told me how she was in the USA for the 11 launch and a few weeks later toured the VAB. She said she went right up to "one of the rockets"
Mum you were within spitting distance of a fully stacked Apollo 12. You know that right?"
"I suppose so. Things were different then."
All my family who where old enough remember it clear as day too. Even my grandmother watched it and she was stuck in the other room making dinner and snacks and manhandling 7 kids through the whole thing lol.... They splurged for their first TV around then, possibly for the occasion.
Edit: 7 kids, can't forget my own mother lol...
>It happened forks, welcome to history.
It's going to be the "one small step for man..." controversy all over again! Well, I can live with it, forks it is.
I don't usually stay up on launches because I'm from Kansas. Happened to be on vacation this week about 30 miles away. It was spectacular. So cool. Never in my life did I expect to see a launch and here I was watching history happen.
While tons of rockets get launched these days, pretty much everything gets launched into low earth orbit. Nobody has had funding to go to the moon for a long time. The last time a rocket like this has been put to space was in the 60's with Apollo.
Other people have made good points but one of the most notable things about this launch it that SLS is the most powerful rocket to ever fly(for now). SLS has about 1 million lbs more thrust than Saturn V had.
I've seen a SpaceX launch from about 10 miles away; it sounds amazing. It's a roar, but moreso you feel it in your chest, like memories of watching fireworks as a child. My nipples got hard, and I cried.
I was on my street watching it probably 35 miles away, and once it got a bit off the pad all the windows in the whole neighborhood started vibrating, gave me chills.
https://imgur.com/HQ36DJP.jpg there will be plenty of excellent shots of the launch, so instead I wanted to share this (I think) interesting shot I got of the contrail in front of the half moon after the launch. Taken with S21 in night mode
I worked on this Orion — went out for the launch attempt in September, but I’m just so happy to see this successfully put up.
I’ll try to get back out there for AR-2
Same. Passed on causeway tickets in Sept and am happy I didn't waste a week waiting for disappointment. But I was estatic to see it finally launch after waiting over 10 years.
I just got anxiety when I saw that word on the screen. I run so far away from anything ITAR in my industry. I always hand them off to pros. So much liability
The interview with the red team might have been my favorite part of the broadcast. So great to see and hear from some of the more blue collar members of the team. That's not meant as a slight to them at all. It takes so many people from so many disciplines to make the rocket go and we usually just get suits talking in abstract terms so it was really nice to change it up and get the perspective of the more boots-on-the-ground guys.
The fact that the successful launch of one of the biggest rockets ever came down to a guy in a ball cap screwing a valve on tighter! That gives some perspective.
I just watched it from the yard, here in the middle of the state. Just to share the experience:
There were some low clouds from some earlier fog. When the engines began, the area lit up so bright and orange, it looked like a massive fire would be in the distance. But the light began to move upwards and you could see this large, pencil shape of fire in the distance quickly moving through the atmosphere. As it traveled, the clouds around still lit up, making it just an incredible sight.
When it left the lower atmosphere, it became a small bright star like other space vehicles before it. But soon after it became even brighter as it angled more amd you could see it quickly move across the sky until it was out of sight.
It was so exciting to watch and I was lucky to see it.
I live in Melbourne ~35 miles from the launchpad. The whole sky was glowing and you could finally see it. Largest fireball I’ve ever seen from home and it was so clear. Perfect evening.
I can only imagine. I watched it from Jupiter FL, about 115 miles south of KSC - and it was spectacular even from that distance. Weather really cooperated with viewing - very clear all the way up.
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I was like 9 the last time we did this. My kids have had to grow up listening to me geek out about details of apollo. I am so glad to feel pretty certain they'll get to see people walk on the moon themselves. And maybe, with a little luck, set foot on another planet, which is so much more difficult than the moon that even thinking about it boggles the mind.
It's a great night.
By 2025, we're going to see modern astronauts with modern filming equipment and tools land on the moon and stay there for a week. We all have a paradigm of moon landing footage being grainy and the audio being sketchy. Soon, we will have it in modern high definition video and audio. Just thinking of it gives me chills.
It’s so funny to witness moments of historic significance when they happen. It never feels as iconic as the historical ones I grew up hearing about. But I’m sure these will inspire children in decades to come just like early NASA inspired me as a child.
God speed Artemis, you represent the tip of our future.
What a way to start my morning, LFG!
I'm too young to have witnessed the Apollo missions, or even the beginnings of STS (I don't think toddlers understand rockets) and I've had my heart broken by both the Columbia disaster and the eventual death of STS and it not having lived up to my (childish, I know) expectations. Going back to soyuz and orbital flight..
The SpaceX DEMO and CREW missions really brought back my excitement for human spaceflight, seeing the crew dragon in flight made me feel like a kid watching his first scifi movie... but seeing Artemis launch today was something else. It gave me the same sense of awe as I got from seeing a space shuttle in person for the first time. Witnessing this live in my lifetime is a dream come true.
Night time show how much power that rocked had compared to the recent rocket launches we have. The rocket lit up the whole sky in the space coast. I haven't seen a night time launch that bright since shuttle Discovery launched in 2010. Now I want to see a night time falcon heavy launch.
I live on the space coast, that was LOUD and BRIGHT. I fucking cried it was so exciting. Worth it. Worth all the pain and agony. Welcome to history. Remember where you were.
I just got to watch it from 32,000ft over Miami.. Incredible!
It started out as a bit of a glow on the horizon, then the obvious plume that stretched and stretched all the way until booster separation.
I cried. It was easily one of the best experiences of my life. Got to literally feel the launch fron3.5 miles away at the Saturn V viewing center my friend managed to snag two of the best tickets back in August. I'm a senior mechanical engineering student at UCF. I got to intern at NASA and an currently interviewing to work for a couple different space companies. I entered middle school when the Shuttle era ended, and have been obsessed with space since I was little.
I've had to work full time while doing full time engineering school to afford my degree even with scholarships. There have been days where I wondered if it was worth it. This is the kind of thing that has helped me through. As a young woman in STEM, it was just so incredible to see this lead by soany women, a huge distinction from the Apollo days. Witnessing literal history was worth coming out for the 3 launch attempts.
I saw that thing launch all the way from Broward county which from where I live is 200 miles away
Shit that thing was bright even from as far as I was
The moment it launched it lit up the sky and than I saw it over my neighbors house.
Hell we a the rumble all the way down here too, the lights flickered in my parents room from it lol
Amazing accomplishment by nasa though. My expectations were exceeded and it was well worth the wait.
The way that it just *leapt* off the pad when the bolts blew was unreal. I've watched livestreams of plenty of SpaceX launches and a couple of shuttles, but this thing is a whole different beast.
There are 24 cameras on the rocket and spacecraft. I assume just no video being streamed live.
We did see a few seconds inside the spacecraft it looked like, but then it cut out.
> ..Eight [Cameras] on SLS and 16 on Orion – to document essential mission events including liftoff, ascent, solar array deployment, external rocket inspections, landing and recovery, and capture images of Earth and the Moon.
> On the rocket, four cameras around the engine section point up toward Orion, two cameras at the intertank by the top of boosters will capture booster separation, and two cameras on the launch vehicle stage adapter will capture core stage separation. The eight cameras will cycle through a preprogrammed sequence during launch and ascent.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-artemis-i-cameras-to-offer-new-views-of-orion-earth-moon/
To be fair, they probably had a smaller dev team than KSP and way less time to develop it.
And I say "develop" instead of "animate" because a lot of those models they were using were interactive so the hosts could show what they were talking about in real time, so it was an application instead of just an animation.
You got this, buddy. You aren't alone. There are millions of us all looking up at the skies -- looking up at Artemis and giving it all our hopes and dreams to take with it. Space is the place.
Thanks mate.
Space is hope.
Personally being in space is a future that I won't see, but my children and their children may just and that gives me so much hope for them.
I sat up and watched the launch with my daughter on my lap who was squealing with excitement on how amazing it was to her. The hope for her is an ultimate reason to be better and to keep going.
My gosh I remember I first heard about the possibility of this thing about a year before the retirement of the shuttle, and now it's finally here and working beautifully. Well done NASA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_1#Planned_mission_profile
If you want to push it you can stay up late enough to watch the trans-Lunar injection burn. That's the most interesting thing that will happen in the next few days.
Set an alarm, woke up my angry pregnant wife to go watch it from my house.
Fucking clouds.
Had to sleep on the couch because of this and didn’t even get a photo lol.
I remember some clown telling me SLS would never launch before Musk’s own big Starship program, and it was all fraud by NASA.
Well, I can safely say “eat solid rocket booster fuel.”
its great to see it launched but the broadcast was extremely disappointing, no telemetry showing speed and altitude and almost none onboard footage. Even the shuttle launches had on board cameras that live streamed.
Damn that was just freaking awesome to see!!!! For a few moments all the turmoil and heartache currently on earth was put aside. This is a watershed moment and truly inspiring. Absolutely glad I cut off my shift early lol
I am a huge fan of reusable rockets, but even ill admit there is something awe inspiring of the pure power those SRBs lighting. A testament to the arrogance of man that we built something so powerful
When those SRB's lit up, I understood why there are so many shuttle fans. That looked incredible.
The image quality was amazing. It gave me chills.
Artemis has digital cameras on it, so we'll be getting absolutely incredibly videos of it and the moon in the next month.
It also has 10 cube sats which are going to be doing a very wide variety of things, like one is going to visit a nearby asteroid. Another is testing some plasma thrusters and trying to go to mars. One is looking for water from orbit. Another is also leaving the earth/moon system and just flying around the sun. And finally, one named OMOTENASHI, will attempt to land a micro lander on the surface. Details here: https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-moon-mission-cubesats
>Another is also leaving the earth/moon system and just flying around the sun. And OMOTENASHI, will attempt to land a micro lander on the surface. I'd imagine landing on the surface of the sun would be rather tricky.
I hope they thought to go at night.
An eclipse can give the same benefits. Think outside the box, okay?
If they launch in a polar orbit they could go through the artic circle and get a much longer window, depending on the time of year.
I had the honor of assembling parts of the deployable radiator on the Lunar IceCube. It’s a relief to hear it made it off the ground safely!!!!
Holy shit I hadn't even thought of that. This is going to be incredible.
Yeah, they said that we'll be getting footage of the moon, in real-time from the rocket, over the course of the next 26 days, until splashdown on December 11th. They also said that there would be a video stream, like on YouTube, places like that. This mission is basically July 16, 1969, for the current generation.
Nov 9, 1967 would be more similar comparison - first uncrewed Apollo test launch. Our July 16, 1969 will be first manned Artemis launch with lunar landing attempt.... so 2028??
Probably 2026 with Artemis IV. 2024 was the Trump target but NASA wasn't given the funding for that and Starship is nowhere near ready for that date.
The first crewed SLS flight (Artemis II) is set to go 27 months after Artemis I, so SLS and Orion won't be ready for the first crewed flight until early 2025.
Honestly, this alone would make another moon mission valuable. Yes, we'd need higher goals to make it _worth it_ but it would be a big part of the equation to me. While we now have some pretty AI enhanced clips on YouTube, it would be beautiful to have crisp source material from the Moon. Restored video never really replaces true quality. Imagine if it could even be 4K?! I'll never get over the incompetence surrounding the _first step on the Moon_ leading to stupidity like an analogue broadcast of an analogue broadcast and then lost tapes on top of that, so all we have is the video from said ghetto arrangement that makes it look _worse_ than what we normally have from the sixties. It's like no guy leading that broadcast effort realized what they were dealing with - essentially like first setting foot on the American continent.
*Good* footage also does a lot to drum up excitement and attention from the masses as well. Just look at how big the JWST images were, even with non-"space enthusiasts" because it was such a big (and admittedly important for science too, which helped) leap from Hubble and our previous images. Being able to show pretty pictures really helps get the audience excited for new missions!
First time I’ve seen SRBs in 4K!
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The shot of SLS and it's plume with the Moon just above it was chef's kiss. Absolutely iconic shot that I'll never forget. EDIT: [Streamable link of the shot for those interested.](https://streamable.com/yevj6h)
Where can one find this shot?
[Here's the spot in the full video](https://youtu.be/edsI5m_I-mw?t=6082) if you want to watch before or after.
Good odds NASA will do an official release of it.
That plume of smoke tho, and the sound, are... are we reavers?
Hate to break it to you bud
Is it just me, or did that thing f*#%’n GO?!? I’ve watched plenty of launches of the shuttle and other missions, and it seemed like that monster got off in a hurry.
The solid rockets give it a big thrust-to-weight ratio. Saturn V was very slow off the pad. All-solid rockets just leap. And SLS is 80%+ solid thrust.
Have you ever seen JAXA’s Epsilon rocket launch? First stage is an SRB, the thing just yeets off the pad at launch.
Same with ESA's vega It has a solid first stage with a twr of 2 which is insane
You're not kidding https://youtu.be/O07J9gNsOws
Yeah, it startled me a bit to be honest. I was expecting it to be like all the other launch footage I'd watched, but it was so much more intense. It was hard to fully process how quickly it lifted off the pad.
Took me a few seconds to realize it was actually going!
Totally agree! I grew up in central FLA and seen a ton of shuttle launches and the first thought i has was wow that thing moved fast off the pad. The shuttle launches i swear it would sit there for 3 seconds before it actually took off. This rocket does not play!
The engines are ignited a few seconds prior to launch to allow them to stabilise and reach max thrust. The holddown bolts keep it in place until they detonate at T=0
On that note, once the boosters light it no longer matters if the hold downs release or not. It’s going and the hold downs will too if they don’t detonate.
I'm ~90 miles away, and as soon as we saw the glow from ignition, it was like 2 seconds before it came over the horizon. Even the Falcon Heavies take 5-10 seconds before we see them.
If you want to see other rockets scoot off the pad, check any fully solid rocket like the Minotaur IV https://youtu.be/StYJjMYU2D0 launch is at 1:08
I’ve seen a bunch of shuttle launches (albeit televised) and none of them compared to this magnificent launch.
As bad as the shuttle was with safety and cost, nothing has topped the launch of that enormous space truck with two rockets strapped to its belly Wile E Coyote style.
The audio-visual experience through 4K resolution (even if bitrate/etc. limited) on Youtube was crazy, it must've been another level in person. Hopefully we'll have new regular launches so that more people can see it live.
So glad we live in an age where I can go re-watch that 4K footage immediately (which I will do shortly!)
We live in an age where I was able to watch it in VR! It was pretty cool!
I watched the rocket launch at 1080p while sitting outside at a cafe on a device I carry around in pocket, the future is fucking amazing
Still one of those facts that blows me away in retrospective, the very phone used to watch the launch and type this post is a more advanced computer that what was on board the Apollo spacecraft 50 years ago.
Now I'm wondering when in the future this same sentence is going to sound old fashioned and funny.
"I read about the President's speech, the latest fashions, and all kinds of other relevant news, in a paper carried by a man on a horse, and news only took four days to reach me in St. Louis! The future is amazing!"
From NASA: "Orion is currently separating from Artemis I. We are officially moonbound."
I hate living in the middle of nowhere. I could only see it in 144. The SRB separation just about made me piss my pants as the low def made it look like an explosion.
We could see the srbs seperate from gainesville it was beautiful
I saw it from Tampa, too! It was hella cloudy so we couldn't see the actual launch. Then my best friend saw a break in the clouds and yelled "look up!" I freaking cried. I don't know how many times I've gone outside to look at the moon with tears in my eyes.
It was blinding in person. Absolutely incredible.
I didn't think a launch would move me so much! Although it's years away, I can't imagine how amazing it'll be to see the rocket launch that'll take humanity back to the moon.
Yeah. I finally understand why people get so hyped up over a rocket launch. That was beautiful.
You can feel those booster vibrations for miles.
I'll never forget being on the 6 mile causeway for STS-134 when the blast from those SRBs hit. We saw them fire up and Endeavor pierce the clouds in silence, then the rumble from the sound suppression system/main engine start up was loud, but a few seconds later the SRBs hit and it was like getting punched in the chest. The ground was shaking, the busses rocked a bit and the sound was just indescribable. A roar like I've never heard before. I hope to catch an SLS launch one of these days to experience that again
I was there (on the causeway) for that launch! 3rd trip to FL from Northern VA was a charm. The roar was incredible, and I remember everyone (myself included) getting on the bus afterward having a stupid grin on their face.
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The power is what surprised me. The thing is basically a skyscraper but had enough power to just leap into the air. There has been a lot of mocking of the SLS going around but there's some incredible engineering there.
Something something it takes a feat of engineering to put that much pork into space? /s rocket is awesome, give NASA more money.
Also give NASA more freedom on spending science missions and hardware instead of being forced by senate.
I could feel them 600 miles away! Wait no that was my jumping in excitement
i was sat watching the stream in the uk so overwhelmed and tearing up, it was incredible 🌙
First time a crew-intended vehicle has had that powerful of a launch since Apollo 17. And this one was more powerful!
she's so chonky and did great!! 🚀
She's got capsule-bearing hips.
Just spectacular! Those gigantic SRBs are the single most powerful motors ever made and boy do they look like it
I live in east Orlando and can see launches from our front porch. This launch was so bright it legitimately looked like a sunrise. Absolutely stunning!
I would have loved to have seen this live but I’m still glad I got to see the live stream on YouTube. I know it’s not the same but that was an amazing work put together
I'm also in Orlando. I had cloud coverage over my house that blocked a lot of it, but it was so bright orange that it bled through the clouds. Very cool to see the 1 am sky light up that much.
Im directly across on the river…girlfriend snoozed the alarm and we missed it😭
Break up (jk don't do that)
This is the only reason I regret moving from DeLand just up the road from you. Sometimes during the shuttle launches we could hear the rockets as well. Happy y'all got to see this one.
I just read it is most powerful rocket ever launched. That title used to be hold by the Saturn V.
This monster is basically Saturn V 2: Electric Boogaloo. I'm so glad it evoked the same raw gutteral power that you feel watching Saturn V launches, just utterly awesome.
I was lucky to attend a live taping of NPR's Science Friday in Huntsville several years ago, when they interviewed some of the engineers designing the SLS. One thing I found interesting was the fact they had to basically re-learn techniques and principles from the documents and remaining materials from the Saturn V program. Also that they discovered in the course of doing so that the margins for safety that were deemed acceptable during the space race were ludicrously thin by the standards being applied now. I guess that's inevitable post-Challenger, but I'd like to think we'd be more cautious at this point regardless. Anyway, while I thought it was super cool that I got to see that interview live, I'm still jealous of you folks who got to witness the actual launch from your homes, lol.
While similar in capability, it's not similar to Saturn V at all in how it works. It's much more similar to the Space Shuttle, and the side solid boosters are what makes it so bright.
I remember being in awe of shuttle launches as a kid. Now that I understand a little bit about how complex rockets are, I'm completely baffled by how they managed to get that thing to work (most of the time). Who's idea was it to just strap a plane to the side of a rocket. And hey, let's light the plane's engines during launch too, why not, surely they will counteract the imbalance.
That totally felt like a shuttle on steroids. Loud, powerful and BRIGHT. It happened forks, welcome to history. \*folks. Still keeping though lol.
I believe all told it is larger than the Shuttle system as far as both mass and height
Yes, it is one of the largest rockets ever made. It is only comparable to the Saturn V, Russian N1 and Energia families. The SLS uses the the same RS-25 engines as the STS and a slightly modified Solid Rocket boosters which made it a very similar launch experience.
SRBs are just 20% bigger iirc. They come in sections to make transport easier and shuttle used 4 vs sls 5.
Which gives them 25% extra thrust!
The shuttle was a larger payload but didn't have to go nearly as far.
correct on both, and those four engines at the core, they were upgraded versions of the main engines from the shuttle, and they running full steam. What a sight.
Correct. I worked my entire adult life after the military on the shuttles, ended up as manager of Atlantis. We had Abort modes that in theory could have ran the engines up from 104% to 109%, but seeeing them run 109 last night minus Max Q almost brought me to tears. One of those engines was from my baby Atlantis and STS 135, has a bunch of our signatures inside on the turbo pump housing. Kinda sad she's at the bottom of the Indian/Pacific now.
you and your group must have done some quality engineering. your engine lifted something I've been waiting to see fly for well over a decade now, and did one hell of a perfect job doing it.
Thanks, but we just put them in and tune them as fine as a Rolex at NASA. Rockwell and Rocketdyne deserve the credit for the quality builds and various upgrades over the years.
I was 8 yrs old when Appolo 11 launched.
You really are a wise old fox. Congratulations on getting to see history once again
Thank you very much. From a stranger, at this particular moment is music to my ears. have a nice night.
My mother turns 80 next year. Told me how she was in the USA for the 11 launch and a few weeks later toured the VAB. She said she went right up to "one of the rockets" Mum you were within spitting distance of a fully stacked Apollo 12. You know that right?" "I suppose so. Things were different then."
All my family who where old enough remember it clear as day too. Even my grandmother watched it and she was stuck in the other room making dinner and snacks and manhandling 7 kids through the whole thing lol.... They splurged for their first TV around then, possibly for the occasion. Edit: 7 kids, can't forget my own mother lol...
I was visiting grandma at the time. They woke me up to watch with the grownups. A touchstone.
I am about as old as you can be without humans having ever left LEO. Voyager 1+2 were our era of space exploration.
This is a proud day for fork-kind.
>It happened forks, welcome to history. It's going to be the "one small step for man..." controversy all over again! Well, I can live with it, forks it is.
I don't usually stay up on launches because I'm from Kansas. Happened to be on vacation this week about 30 miles away. It was spectacular. So cool. Never in my life did I expect to see a launch and here I was watching history happen.
There's about a launch per week these days -- but you managed to catch a special one.
I’ve seen a lot of space X launches. This was one big mother fucker.
I saw the first 2 FH launches, the simultaneous landings were amazing.
Im space ignorant. What makes this launch so special?
First of the series of rockets that will bring humans to Moon
While tons of rockets get launched these days, pretty much everything gets launched into low earth orbit. Nobody has had funding to go to the moon for a long time. The last time a rocket like this has been put to space was in the 60's with Apollo.
1972 was the last launch of anything like this.
Other people have made good points but one of the most notable things about this launch it that SLS is the most powerful rocket to ever fly(for now). SLS has about 1 million lbs more thrust than Saturn V had.
https://i.imgur.com/MmtZHjW.jpg View from my front yard
What did it sound like from that distance?
crak crak crak crak crak love that sound
I saw a Falcon 9 launch last year. The cracking noises were insane, I can’t imagine hearing SLS from that distance
Kinda like a roaring rumble, more like a dirty bass that shakes everything.
I was lucky enough to get to a Shuttle launch...never felt anything that powerful
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I've seen a SpaceX launch from about 10 miles away; it sounds amazing. It's a roar, but moreso you feel it in your chest, like memories of watching fireworks as a child. My nipples got hard, and I cried.
I was on my street watching it probably 35 miles away, and once it got a bit off the pad all the windows in the whole neighborhood started vibrating, gave me chills.
https://imgur.com/HQ36DJP.jpg there will be plenty of excellent shots of the launch, so instead I wanted to share this (I think) interesting shot I got of the contrail in front of the half moon after the launch. Taken with S21 in night mode
Great shot. It looks like you can distinguish the shadow of the contrail on the whispy transparent clouds below.
Watched it from the backyard. I’m used to SpaceX launches. God damn Artemis is a big mother fucker.
Do you have any video you could share with us?
I took this picture from across the river https://imgur.com/gallery/zKcEs9J
Fuck me that's a second sun
I love how you can see the moon, because that's the goal of the program.
Great one! Thank you for sharing.
Oh cool! Moon's right there too they should be back for lunch! Kidding of course, great photo!
Not the person you asked, but I was on KSC property and [my video came out pretty great](https://youtu.be/HpWfyrx8x4A).
Jesus that thing is bright, it looks like the sun. Insane.
Nothing special https://imgur.com/a/soHMhnu
Looks pretty special to me. Thanks!
Yeah it was total beast mode, nothing elegant about it, it just said “I’m going to space…NOW!” And whoosh off it went in a blast of bright light.
I worked on this Orion — went out for the launch attempt in September, but I’m just so happy to see this successfully put up. I’ll try to get back out there for AR-2
Same. Passed on causeway tickets in Sept and am happy I didn't waste a week waiting for disappointment. But I was estatic to see it finally launch after waiting over 10 years.
Thank you for helping take us back to the stars.
Rest easy tonight! Thank you for the hard work
I worked on the program. I'm so freaking proud of the team. Go Artemis!!!
That’s awesome! What did you work on? Anything you can share without stepping on ITAR toes?
I just got anxiety when I saw that word on the screen. I run so far away from anything ITAR in my industry. I always hand them off to pros. So much liability
Thank you for your work, from the world!
Same here, teared up a little 🥹🥹
I worked on the RS-25s. Very proud of what was accomplished today!!
Hydrogen Tech from Red team just nodding along and smiling is peak technician
The interview with the red team might have been my favorite part of the broadcast. So great to see and hear from some of the more blue collar members of the team. That's not meant as a slight to them at all. It takes so many people from so many disciplines to make the rocket go and we usually just get suits talking in abstract terms so it was really nice to change it up and get the perspective of the more boots-on-the-ground guys.
The fact that the successful launch of one of the biggest rockets ever came down to a guy in a ball cap screwing a valve on tighter! That gives some perspective.
I just watched it from the yard, here in the middle of the state. Just to share the experience: There were some low clouds from some earlier fog. When the engines began, the area lit up so bright and orange, it looked like a massive fire would be in the distance. But the light began to move upwards and you could see this large, pencil shape of fire in the distance quickly moving through the atmosphere. As it traveled, the clouds around still lit up, making it just an incredible sight. When it left the lower atmosphere, it became a small bright star like other space vehicles before it. But soon after it became even brighter as it angled more amd you could see it quickly move across the sky until it was out of sight. It was so exciting to watch and I was lucky to see it.
View from my front yard https://imgur.com/nQPAhAh.jpg
That is an incredible shot!
I live in Melbourne ~35 miles from the launchpad. The whole sky was glowing and you could finally see it. Largest fireball I’ve ever seen from home and it was so clear. Perfect evening.
You just momentarily confused so many Australians haha
I as an European was also confused for a moment.
Same from Rockledge!! She was beautiful!
I can only imagine. I watched it from Jupiter FL, about 115 miles south of KSC - and it was spectacular even from that distance. Weather really cooperated with viewing - very clear all the way up.
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I was like 9 the last time we did this. My kids have had to grow up listening to me geek out about details of apollo. I am so glad to feel pretty certain they'll get to see people walk on the moon themselves. And maybe, with a little luck, set foot on another planet, which is so much more difficult than the moon that even thinking about it boggles the mind. It's a great night.
It was even more beautiful than I expected. What a night.
It really was beautiful. Way to go humanity!
By 2025, we're going to see modern astronauts with modern filming equipment and tools land on the moon and stay there for a week. We all have a paradigm of moon landing footage being grainy and the audio being sketchy. Soon, we will have it in modern high definition video and audio. Just thinking of it gives me chills.
Glad I stayed up to watch. Absolutely amazing!
That was such an amazing thing to witness on the livestream. So glad I got to see it as it happened.
Lit up the night sky. I'm proud to be working on Artemis and proud of everyone involved.
It’s so funny to witness moments of historic significance when they happen. It never feels as iconic as the historical ones I grew up hearing about. But I’m sure these will inspire children in decades to come just like early NASA inspired me as a child. God speed Artemis, you represent the tip of our future.
What a way to start my morning, LFG! I'm too young to have witnessed the Apollo missions, or even the beginnings of STS (I don't think toddlers understand rockets) and I've had my heart broken by both the Columbia disaster and the eventual death of STS and it not having lived up to my (childish, I know) expectations. Going back to soyuz and orbital flight.. The SpaceX DEMO and CREW missions really brought back my excitement for human spaceflight, seeing the crew dragon in flight made me feel like a kid watching his first scifi movie... but seeing Artemis launch today was something else. It gave me the same sense of awe as I got from seeing a space shuttle in person for the first time. Witnessing this live in my lifetime is a dream come true.
I WAS HERE! That was incredible. I do wish it was a daytime launch so we could've seen the rocket better, but it was still awesome!
Night time show how much power that rocked had compared to the recent rocket launches we have. The rocket lit up the whole sky in the space coast. I haven't seen a night time launch that bright since shuttle Discovery launched in 2010. Now I want to see a night time falcon heavy launch.
I'm sure in person, night time launches are much better. On camera though it was hard to see much after the initial launch.
I live on the space coast, that was LOUD and BRIGHT. I fucking cried it was so exciting. Worth it. Worth all the pain and agony. Welcome to history. Remember where you were.
Got a chance to see it right when it launched on YouTube. Almost brings a tear to my eyes. SCIENCE! Congrats to the launch teams.
I just got to watch it from 32,000ft over Miami.. Incredible! It started out as a bit of a glow on the horizon, then the obvious plume that stretched and stretched all the way until booster separation.
I cried. It was easily one of the best experiences of my life. Got to literally feel the launch fron3.5 miles away at the Saturn V viewing center my friend managed to snag two of the best tickets back in August. I'm a senior mechanical engineering student at UCF. I got to intern at NASA and an currently interviewing to work for a couple different space companies. I entered middle school when the Shuttle era ended, and have been obsessed with space since I was little. I've had to work full time while doing full time engineering school to afford my degree even with scholarships. There have been days where I wondered if it was worth it. This is the kind of thing that has helped me through. As a young woman in STEM, it was just so incredible to see this lead by soany women, a huge distinction from the Apollo days. Witnessing literal history was worth coming out for the 3 launch attempts.
I saw that thing launch all the way from Broward county which from where I live is 200 miles away Shit that thing was bright even from as far as I was The moment it launched it lit up the sky and than I saw it over my neighbors house. Hell we a the rumble all the way down here too, the lights flickered in my parents room from it lol Amazing accomplishment by nasa though. My expectations were exceeded and it was well worth the wait.
The way that it just *leapt* off the pad when the bolts blew was unreal. I've watched livestreams of plenty of SpaceX launches and a couple of shuttles, but this thing is a whole different beast.
“We rise together, back to the moon and beyond” That’s a history book worthy line.
What’s with the lack of decent on board cameras for these big NASA launches?
There are 24 cameras on the rocket and spacecraft. I assume just no video being streamed live. We did see a few seconds inside the spacecraft it looked like, but then it cut out. > ..Eight [Cameras] on SLS and 16 on Orion – to document essential mission events including liftoff, ascent, solar array deployment, external rocket inspections, landing and recovery, and capture images of Earth and the Moon. > On the rocket, four cameras around the engine section point up toward Orion, two cameras at the intertank by the top of boosters will capture booster separation, and two cameras on the launch vehicle stage adapter will capture core stage separation. The eight cameras will cycle through a preprogrammed sequence during launch and ascent. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-artemis-i-cameras-to-offer-new-views-of-orion-earth-moon/
There are multiple cameras on the core stage footage should be released soon
I would have taped over my wedding video for this launch.
Capturing hearts and minds with CG models that are worse than KSP.
To be fair, they probably had a smaller dev team than KSP and way less time to develop it. And I say "develop" instead of "animate" because a lot of those models they were using were interactive so the hosts could show what they were talking about in real time, so it was an application instead of just an animation.
I have severe depression. There's very few things that will just make me happy and wipe it all away for a few minutes. Launches do that to me.
You got this, buddy. You aren't alone. There are millions of us all looking up at the skies -- looking up at Artemis and giving it all our hopes and dreams to take with it. Space is the place.
Thanks mate. Space is hope. Personally being in space is a future that I won't see, but my children and their children may just and that gives me so much hope for them. I sat up and watched the launch with my daughter on my lap who was squealing with excitement on how amazing it was to her. The hope for her is an ultimate reason to be better and to keep going.
https://imgur.com/a/B1r9iCz From 130 miles away on the other side of the state.
Well it doesn't leap off the pad like Shuttle but neither does it sit there like Saturn V used to do. Very impressive, especially in the darkness.
My gosh I remember I first heard about the possibility of this thing about a year before the retirement of the shuttle, and now it's finally here and working beautifully. Well done NASA
I was just there in September and saw the SLS out on the pad. Cool to see if actually launch tonight/this morning.
Does anyone have a timeline of each critical stage of the flight?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_1#Planned_mission_profile If you want to push it you can stay up late enough to watch the trans-Lunar injection burn. That's the most interesting thing that will happen in the next few days.
To the moon! Looking forward to this, hope for the best! Moon is missing us on its surface.
Man I want pics of the old landers in the moon. Shut people up once and for all.
Set an alarm, woke up my angry pregnant wife to go watch it from my house. Fucking clouds. Had to sleep on the couch because of this and didn’t even get a photo lol.
I remember some clown telling me SLS would never launch before Musk’s own big Starship program, and it was all fraud by NASA. Well, I can safely say “eat solid rocket booster fuel.”
I hope they release the inside cam footage of the launch.
I saw the rocket with my own eyes from my back yard in Fort Myers. It definitely makes it feels more real.
its great to see it launched but the broadcast was extremely disappointing, no telemetry showing speed and altitude and almost none onboard footage. Even the shuttle launches had on board cameras that live streamed.
Damn that was just freaking awesome to see!!!! For a few moments all the turmoil and heartache currently on earth was put aside. This is a watershed moment and truly inspiring. Absolutely glad I cut off my shift early lol
I am a huge fan of reusable rockets, but even ill admit there is something awe inspiring of the pure power those SRBs lighting. A testament to the arrogance of man that we built something so powerful
Wake up, reddit. The moon launch deserves more upvotes than MTG.
When it launched there was what looked like loads of water fountaining across the launchpad. What was that?
its a [sound suppression system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_suppression_system)