Artemis

That was freakin’ beautiful!

NASA’s Artemis I mission finally launched tonight, heading off planet to the moon on an uncrewed mission to prove the technology behind the Artemis rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the ESS service module. There have been delays, hurricanes, cryogenic fuel leaks, and a gazillion other hurdles. Tonight the last of the hurdles were overcome and Artemis flew!

The mission has a long way to go – it has to get to the moon, orbit there for several weeks running tests on hardware and systems, then coming back to test the heat shield in a landing off of San Diego.

I went out to check out the Santa Ana winds in the back yard and see if I could see any sign of a brush fire that’s popped up above Lake View Terrace. No sign of flames, but through that smoke in the distance was the rising moon.

There’s the target! I regret that it’s taken 50+ years to get here, but from here let’s keep going!