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NASA Artemis II Launch Update and News - Elon Musk Podcast · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  Before NASA astronauts set foot near the moon again, the Artemis
• 0:04
  2 mission has to prove life support, comms and a very, very
• 0:09
  tricky re entry tweak. NASA has reached a major
• 0:13
  hardware milestone with the Artemis 2 mission as the Orion
• 0:16
  spacecraft named Integrity was stacked atop the Space Launch
• 0:20
  System rocket on October 21st, 2025, marking the completion of
• 0:25
  the full vehicle assembly. Now the mission is targeting a
• 0:29
  launch no earlier then February 5th, 2026, with launch windows
• 0:33
  extending through April 26 of 2026, representing A2 month
• 0:38
  acceleration from the previous April.
• 0:41
  Only target now. If the February window is
• 0:43
  achieved, it will be a nighttime launch, and nighttime launches
• 0:48
  are spectacular now. The rocket assembly reached
• 0:51
  completion after an intensive stacking process that began back
• 0:56
  in November 2024 at the core stage featuring 4R 25 engines
• 1:01
  was integrated with two solid rocket boosters in March 2025.
• 1:05
  Following that, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage
• 1:09
  arrived at Kennedy Space Center on April 15th and was mated to
• 1:13
  the stack on May 1st. Now the final major piece, the
• 1:17
  Orion stage adapter built entirely by NASA engineers at
• 1:21
  Marshall Space Center, was integrated on September 30th of
• 1:25
  2025. Now this ring shaped adapter
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  connects the rocket's upper stage to the Orion spacecraft
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  and houses 412 U cube sats from international partners including
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  South Korea, Germany, Argentina and Saudi Arabia, which will
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  deploy into high Earth orbit after Orion separates the Orion
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  spacecraft. Integrity arrived at the Vehicle
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  Assembly Building on October 16th, traveling from the Launch
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  Abort System facility where it received its 44 foot tall abort
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  system. Lockheed Martin completely
• 2:00
  needed the spacecraft's development and transferred
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  position to NASA's Exploration Ground Systems team on May 1st
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  of 2025 after an extensive assembly and testing.
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  Now an unexpected hardware issue required NASA to replace one of
• 2:15
  the core stages RS25 engines. A hydraulic leak was discovered
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  in the main oxidizer valve actuator of engine E2063A,
• 2:25
  relatively new engine to several in 2015 that had never flown.
• 2:29
  Now, NASA swapped it with E2O61, an older engine that flew on
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  Space Shuttle missions STS 1:30 and STS 134, and was originally
• 2:38
  assigned to Armis 3. Now, the engine replacement
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  completed by the end of April 2025, marked the 1st RS25 swap
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  in the SLS program and was performed with the core stage in
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  vertical position, a technique previously used during the Space
• 2:53
  Shuttle era. And despite the swap, the
• 2:55
  mission timeline remain unaffected.
• 2:57
  All four RS25 engines successfully completed checkout
• 3:02
  tests as part of the Space Launch System Program specific
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  Engineering test series back in June of 2025, with engineers
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  verifying seamless communication between engine controllers and
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  also the vehicle, as well as confirming the engines could
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  gimbal as required during flight.
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  The Artemis 2 Orion has significant upgrades from the
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  uncrewed Arnabus One test flight.
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  New systems include life support capabilities, air water, thermal
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  control, waste management and displays and controls, audio
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  communications, an exercise machine and a fully functional
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  launch abort system. Now the spacecraft also features
• 3:44
  docking sensors and experimental laser communication system to
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  enable high data rate communications for future
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  missions. The European Service Module,
• 3:54
  provided by the European Space Agency and build by Airbus,
• 3:58
  serves as Orion's powerhouse, supplying propulsion electronic
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  power generated by 15,000 solar cells on 4 solar array wings,
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  thermal control and life support commodities including water and
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  breathable oxygen. ECM 2 performed exceptionally
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  during testing and is ready to support the crew during their
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  journey. One of the most critical issues
• 4:21
  addressed was the heat shield performance observed during
• 4:25
  Artemis 1 and during that re entry, more material than
• 4:29
  expected charred away from the ablative shield, with chunks of
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  material liberating from the surface.
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  Now NASA's investigation determined the root cause.
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  Gases produced during ablation became trapped within the heat
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  shield material rather than permeating through it, causing
• 4:49
  internal pressure buildup that led to cracking and material
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  loss. Rather than replacing the
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  already installed Artemis 2 heat shield, which would have caused
• 4:59
  years of delays, NASA opted to fly the mission with a modified
• 5:03
  re entry trajectory. The new profile reduces the skip
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  dwell time during re entry, which lowers heat accumulation
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  and gas generation to levels where internal pressure won't
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  crack the shield. NASA has validated this approach
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  through extensive testing and arc jet facilities at Eames
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  Research Center. Now for Artemis 3 and beyond,
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  the heat shield manufacturing process will be modified to make
• 5:29
  the AV coat more permeable. The environmental control and
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  life support system is one of the most critical new additions
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  for Artemis 2, as will be the first full test with crew
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  aboard. The system includes carbon
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  dioxide removal, humidity control, temperature regulation,
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  and ventilation to maintain a habitable environment for the
• 5:53
  four astronauts during their 10 day mission.
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  Now, NASA encountered and resolved several ECLS issues
• 6:00
  during development, including problems with control valves for
• 6:03
  the carbon dioxide removal system and sealing material on
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  valves causing overboard leakage.
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  Both issues have been fixed, and NASA continues testing the ECLSS
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  through multiple failure scenarios to ensure reliability.
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  Now, the mission profile specifically includes A checkup
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  period in high Earth orbit before committing to the
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  translunar injection burn, allowing the crew to verify
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  ECLSS performance and abort if necessary before heading to the
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  Moon. And the crew has been engaged in
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  extensive training throughout 2025, practicing multiple
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  scenarios including time launch operations, emergency egress
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  procedures, and suited crew tests.
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  In August, the crew practice night launch scenarios at
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  Kennedy Space Center, simulating suiting up, driving to the
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  launchpad, and emergency evacuation procedures.
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  They also completed emergency egress system demonstrations
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  inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, practicing with
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  emergency egress baskets that would be used during a real
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  emergency. The astronauts performed suited
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  crew tests on July 31st, 2025 and bring the Orion spacecraft
• 7:15
  together for the first time while wearing their Orion Crew
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  Survival System space suits, testing all equipment interfaces
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  they will operate during the mission.
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  Now training also includes practicing observing and
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  photographing the Moon from mock up Orion capsules, learning how
• 7:34
  celestial objects will appear through Orion's windows as
• 7:37
  backup to the advanced navigation systems.
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  MS-2 will be an approximate 10 day test flight following a free
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  return trajectory, meaning that once the trans lunar injection
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  burn occurs, physics and the gravitational interactions
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  between Earth and the Moon will naturally bring the crew home
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  even if propulsion systems fail. Similar to Apollo 8 and Apollo
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  13, however, the spacecraft will make slight trajectory
• 8:05
  corrections as needed. After launching from Kennedy
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  Space Center's Launch Complex 39 B, the SLS is rocket twin solid
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  rocket boosters will provide approximately 75% of the
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  vehicle's £8.8 million of thrust at liftoff, with the 4RS25
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  engines providing the remaining 25%.
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  Following booster separation and main engine cutoff, Orion will
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  perform an apogee raised maneuver in a perigee raised
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  barn, reaching a high Earth orbit approximately 70,000
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  kilometers at its highest point. During this checkout phase, the
• 8:39
  crew will test life support, displays, controls and other
• 8:43
  critical spacecraft functions, and if all systems perform
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  nominally, Mission Control will authorize the Trans Lunar
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  Injection burn on Day 2. The crew will then conduct A
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  proximity operations demonstration with the spent
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  upper stage practicing rendezvous and station keeping
• 9:02
  maneuvers critical for future Artemis 3 operations.
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  When the crew will dock with the lunar Lander, the mission will
• 9:09
  take the astronauts more than 5000 nautical miles,
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  Approximately 5523 miles, or 8889 kilometers, be on the
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  Moon's surface, the farthest humans will have travelled from
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  Earth since Apollo 13. Now, the crew will not enter
• 9:25
  lunar orbit or land, but will complete a flyby of the Moon's
• 9:28
  far side before the free return trajectory brings them back to
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  Earth. Following the completion of
• 9:34
  vehicle stacking, NASA will conduct integrated testing in
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  the Vehicle Assembly Building, including a countdown
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  demonstration test with the crew.
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  Now, Charlie Blackwell Thompson, the Artemis launch director,
• 9:48
  indicated the fully assembled vehicle is targeted to roll out
• 9:52
  to Launch Complex 39 B by the end of calendar year 2025.
• 9:58
  At the launchpad, teams will connect the rocket and the
• 10:01
  spacecraft to ground support systems.
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  After approximately 2 weeks of preparations that will conduct a
• 10:07
  critical wet dress rehearsal, which is a full scale launch
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  simulation. Where the SLS will be fully
• 10:13
  loaded with liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellants and the
• 10:16
  countdown will proceed to T -, 29 seconds before being
• 10:21
  terminated. The fuel will then be drained
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  and the vehicle prepared for its actual launch.
• 10:27
  Unlike Artemis One, if the wet dress rehearsal is successful,
• 10:30
  NASA does not plan to roll the vehicle back to the Vehicle
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  Assembly Building unless a major issue arises that cannot be
• 10:39
  resolved at the pad. Instead, the we'll use a new
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  temporary platform to install the batteries that power the
• 10:45
  flight termination system directly on the pad.
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  NASA has identified launch windows of approximately 4 to 8
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  days per month from February through April 2020 sixth, with
• 10:56
  the earliest opportunity on February 5th and the latest on
• 10:59
  April 26th. The specific dates within each
• 11:02
  month are still being finalized as teams work to nail down the
• 11:06
  exact daily opportunities. The acceleration of the schedule
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  from the previous April target to potentially February reflects
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  NASA's efforts to capitalize on efficiencies in operations while
• 11:18
  maintaining crew safety as the top priority.
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  Despite ongoing concerns about Spacex's Starship human landing
• 11:25
  system scheduled for Artemis 3 and recent announcements by
• 11:29
  acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy about potentially
• 11:33
  reopening the lunar Lander contract to additional
• 11:36
  competitors, the Artemis 2 mission remains on track.
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  The completion of the Ruckus deck in the progress toward
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  integrated testing shows that NASA's commitment to returning
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  humans to deep space exploration is real.
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  We are going back to the moon, we're going to build a base
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  there and it is going to propel us to Mars.