NASA is celebrating the successful launch of its Artemis II mission, which includes technology developed by Washington-based companies.
NASA’s test flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft marks the first crewed mission to breach the Earth’s atmosphere since the Apollo missions more than 50 years ago. It is crewed by NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and astronaut Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. The plan is for the nearly 10-day mission to take the astronauts around the moon, allowing them to gather data needed for a long-term return to the moon and future missions to Mars.
Back on Earth, the Museum of Flight in Seattle hosted one of four official NASA viewing parties around the country, a nod to the involvement of the local aerospace industry. It was a special event for around 1,200 people who watched from different areas of the museum, including inside a theater and tucked under historic airplanes on the main floor. Attendees joined in the countdown and cheered when the rocket’s engines roared to life and the spacecraft lifted off.
NASA enthusiast Jeff Brock wore a blue astronaut suit from adult space camp to commemorate the event. He was excited to see that the crew included a woman, a Canadian and a person of color.
“As a Star Trek fan from the earliest age, for me, it is a symbol of positivity, hopefulness — about what it can mean to work together toward a common cause with science as our foundation,” Brock said.
Angelica Mora was at the launch party with her 9-year-old son, Sebastian, who was wearing a ball cap that read “Rocket Scientist.” Sebastian wants to be an engineer, and Angelica said the museum was a cool place to watch “a historic moment.”
“We obviously can’t go to where the launch is itself, but I think this is a pretty cool 'close to it,' with everyone that is also excited about this new launch,” she said.
The museum’s celebration also showcased Washington state-based companies that were involved in various aspects of the launch. Boeing produced the rocket that propelled the crew into space. L3Harris Technologies, which has offices in Redmond, developed some of the rocket’s engines.
Nikhita Sathiyian, an engineer at L3Harris Technologies, didn’t work on the Artemis II engines, but has helped analyze the same type of engine on other spacecraft. She said this technology has sent rockets to space for years.
“A lot of these engines are so old, and just thinking back to how science and technology has improved over the years, but how much of it is being re-used to this day, I think is pretty cool,” Sathiyian said. “It makes me excited to see what it’s going to go next.”
The launch is part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, which seeks to gather information about how deep space impacts humans and test whether technology on the rocket is safe for future flights. NASA is also hoping that this exploration is a step toward making the moon a pit stop for astronauts to fly further into space and eventually reach Mars.
