The countdown clock at Kennedy Space Center is ticking toward zero for a Monday morning launch of the un-crewed Artemis I mission to the Moon. This is one event you’ll want to catch live.
Right now, NASA’s scheduled launch time for Artemis on Monday, Aug. 29 is 8:33 a.m. eastern.
There is a two-hour launch window. If the launch does not occur within that window, there are other launch windows over the next few days before the rocket “stack” has to be moved back into the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Live coverage of the launch starts at 6:30 a.m. eastern, and you can also get coverage of Artemis’ full mission using NASA’s Artemis Real-time Orbit Website, which tracks the spacecraft’s flight throughout its 42-day mission.
There are a few social accounts you should keep an eye on during the mission.
The Orion Spacecraft has its own Twitter account which will provide mission updates, as well as other information on Orion. The Artemis Program account and the Space Launch System rocket account on Twitter are also great sources of reliable information.
It has been almost 50 years since the launch of Apollo 17 on Dec. 7, 1972. That was the last time NASA and KSC launched a crew-capable spacecraft toward the Moon.
At the KSC, NASA has put up banners that state, “We Are Going.” To me, the most important part of Artemis is that, this time, we are also going to the Moon to stay.
Back in December 1968, I took color slide pictures of the TV screen and the Moon itself when Apollo 8 went to the Moon. Almost 54 years later, I will attempt to track Artemis I on its way to the Moon using my Unistellar — just like I did for James Webb Space Telescope’s million-mile journey to L-2.
It’s been a long wait to send a human rated spacecraft to the Moon. I can hardly wait for lift off.
Light that candle!
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