Who's watching the Artemis rocket launch? N/t

[malaise]

Add live feed
https://democraticunderground.com/100221140518

[applegrove]

1. Me.

[Loryn]

2. I am now.

🚀

[SheltieLover]

3. T -10:00

[QED]

4. Me!

[Lochloosa]

5. Jacksonville fl checking in. Clock has restarted.

[a kennedy]

6. Yup.....on C-SPAN.....

Love it.

[Jerry2144]

7. Me.

But I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Maybe it’s just the utter incompetence of the felon and his crime syndicate

[Quiet Em]

8. My husband and I are.

Just put in on the TV.

[applegrove]

9. T - 05:00.

[Goonch]

10. ;-{)MOON OR BUST

[SheltieLover]

11. All systems are go 4min.

[haele]

12. Directly from the NASA feed, working from home today so it's been in the background.

Not sure I really like the talking heads they've been using.

Much to much like GMA - a lot of redundant cheerful time wasting "team pumping" chatter over the past 6 hours.

3 minutes to go.

[llmart]

42. Best place to watch is YouTube - NASA feed.

[malaise]

13. Liftoff!

Phew!

[a kennedy]

14. 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻

[MustLoveBeagles]

15. I am!

[House of Roberts]

16. Got those SRBs out of the way on sched.

Looking good so far.

[newdeal2]

17. Yes - one of the few bright spots in the news nt

[DBoon]

18. Me

[Maru Kitteh]

19. Malaise - I just sat on the couch and cried. Holy cow.

I was a very small child the last time we went to the moon. This was just overwhelming. I didn’t expect it to be so emotional.

[haele]

22. Laz is crying too. His first memory with his dad was

Apollo 8 launch. His dad told him to remember the first time "we sent astronauts to the moon".

[malaise]

28. Yes it sure has been a long time

Awesome indeed. Science matters.

[llmart]

43. I got a bit choked up also.

I was married the weekend they landed on the moon and now my first born (son) works at KSC on the Artemis program! He lost cell connection when his team of engineers were able to leave their stations and go out to watch the liftoff. I felt like I had come full circle.

[niyad]

92. WOW!!! That just made my heart sing!

[electric_blue68]

98. Way cool!

[PCIntern]

20. Remarkable.

Takes me back.

[Prairie_Seagull]

67. Absolutely remarkable.

What a rush to see something so right for a change. End of remarks.

[SheltieLover]

21. Whew. That was a corrective emotional experience.

I've not watched one of these in just over 40 yrs since I watched Challenger blow up.

[malaise]

34. I'll never forget that day

Rec

[SheltieLover]

36. Me either. Horrible & thanks to ragun forcing NASA to launch, despite problems.

[niyad]

75. I will NEVER forgive him for that, amoung his many sins.

[SheltieLover]

76. Same here!

I didn't realize how traumatized I was by seeing that until I watched today.



I must say it warms my heart to know pootin is eating his rotten heart out over Artemis II.

[electric_blue68]

99. Oh, how did I miss that (re: ronnie ray-gun) OR did I forget...

Oh, man... At my then current job a cataloge studio w a whole photo shooting set up we usually had radio going. Terrible, horrific day.

[BeneteauBum]

81. I was in Tampa

Stood outside in the cold and watched the exhaust plume split in two. Knew something was wrong. Went inside just as someone yelled the shuttle blew up. A somber day.

Peace ☮️

[niyad]

77. I watched the explosion as I paid for gas on my way to work at a Veterans'

Outreach Center, and raced to the office. I knew the men would probably be in a bit of shock. It was a very difficult day for all.

[SheltieLover]

79. I'm sure it was.

Ty for being there to support them.

[niyad]

83. I was grateful that I could be there for them.

[SheltieLover]

86. I'm glad you were, too!

I was at home with a 3 yr old. Lol

[SheltieLover]

23. It gives me great pleasure to know pootin is eating his rotten heart out.

Trying to wrap my head around traveling 15K mph.

[ruet]

24. I am. Whoever the production director on this is...

should never work in TVP again. Terrible!

[Mz Pip]

27. Watching it here.

I remember the Challenger disaster so I get really anxious during these launches.

[ruet]

30. We watched Challenger in class.

It was not a good day.

[PCB66]

58. My wife was a school teacher

in Winter Haven Florida. She took her class out to the playground to watch the launch. The whole class saw the explosion.

[pazzyanne]

71. Our sixth graders in Minnesota watched on a telecast.

The rest of the school day was spent dealing with traumatizes kids.

[muriel_volestrangler]

35. I was watching via the BBC, and couldn't tell who was doing the coverage badly

The sound was about 5 seconds behind the pictures, so the countdown was completely misleading. Then the pictures of the moment of launch moved frame, so there was a close-up of nothing. By the time they switched to the long view from outside, it had cleared the tower by some seconds.

Then, just as the boosters were about to shut down and separate, they switched to pictures of the crowd watching it (which is boring at any time). By the time they were showing the rocket again, the boosters were well separated.

The BBC has a chyron which covers up the speed, altitude etc. indicators.

Thank goodness the rocket engineers knew what they were doing.

[ruet]

53. And then they missed the...

crew module separation. 😭

[mcar]

25. Saw it from my front yard!

[Spazito]

40. Color me green with envy!

[llmart]

44. Lucky you!

Are you in Titusville?

[mcar]

49. No. 100 miles west

My sis is in New Smyrna Beach, about 30 miles N of Kennedy and got amazing video.

[Rhiagel]

72. Likewise for about 5 seconds between parting clouds.

It seems to always be mostly cloudy when I venture outside to watch a launch. Just happy to know it was safe and successful.

[electric_blue68]

100. Alright!

[Maeve]

26. Yep

[Ocelot II]

29. Me.

I'm so old I remember the Apollo missions; very cool to see it happen again.

[madamesilverspurs]

31. Took me back

to sitting on the living room floor watching our big clunky black and white TV, gaining additions to our vernacular ("...six...five...four...three...two...ignition...we have liftoff", and "A OK", and "splashdown" ). My younger brother, about 5 at the time, promptly announced his intent to be an 'astanot'. Kids clamored for the new toy space helmet with a tissue paper apparatus that gave a gravelly tone to their voices. It was scary and exciting all at once. We'd watched Gagarin sail across the sky, now it was our turn. Somewhere Alan Shepard is smiling.


.

[malaise]

32. Sweet memories

Rec

[zeusdogmom]

37. Me, too

Our TV reception was often sketchy - someone had to go outside and adjust the antenna ‘cause the control box in the house was basically useless. But we watched all of the liftoffs. So exciting

Good news - the youngest grandson is now geeking out on this latest space adventure

[llmart]

46. Saw an interview where a grandmother had taken her two children to the coast to see it.

The girl looked to be about 10 and the boy about 8. The girl was all excited about it! That thrilled me to see kids getting excited about itj and it was the grandmother who showed them how exciting it was. Probably made such an impression on her grandkids.

[QueerDuck]

33. The what? When? What a fucking waste of money!

[niyad]

84. Scientific knowledge is a waste of money?

[QueerDuck]

89. I think that "Life support" is expensive and wasteful overhead with little Return-on-Investment.

Last edited Thu Apr 2, 2026, 04:55 PM - Edit history (1)

I've always argued that using 90% of a budget to keep a fragile human body breathing in a vacuum is an inefficient way to get that science. After all... if our goal is pure scientific discovery, we should be all-in on unmanned robotics.

Efficiency: For the cost of one Artemis mission, we could send dozens of high-tech rovers and probes. Robots don't need oxygen, food, heavy radiation shielding, or return fuel.

Risk vs. Reward: A "Moon Base" or a suicide mission to Mars isn't about data; it’s about PR and flags. The physics and logistics of a manned Mars return are currently non-existent. Why are we funding a "one-way" fantasy when that money could fund a generation of robotics/rovers, deep-space telescopes and climate-monitoring satellites?

The "Human" Cost: We are spending billions on "breathing room" as well as food/water and waste management systems in space while we have a crumbling infrastructure and a climate crisis here at home on earth. Also... healthcare anyone? (Ugh! Don't even get me started!)

I’m all-in for the science --- I'm against the massive, unnecessary "Man in a Can" surcharge that slows down actual discovery and science.

You know... for the price of just one Artemis launch ($4.1B), NASA could fund nearly two entire Mars Science Laboratory missions like Curiosity ($2.5B) from scratch. Curiosity has provided THIRTEEN YEARS of continuous data for a fraction of the cost of one moon-bound rocket. I'm sure you're aware that in a crewed mission, you aren't just paying for the camera or the drill... you are paying billions for the Orion capsule ($20B+) and the SLS rocket ($24B+) just to ensure the "passengers" survive a short trip. That is a lot of money and a lot of risk... for a lot less data.

Our nation needs to do better when it comes to science and exploration and getting the biggest bang for our buck.

[niyad]

91. I was going to thank you for that very clear explanation of your

statement, until your last two sentences. One cannot "move goalposts" when one has no clue as to their location. Which was why the question was asked in the first place.

[QueerDuck]

93. Ah... okay. I guess we're talking past each other.

[niyad]

94. Not a problem. As I said, I really do thank you for your clear and

informative explanation.

[QueerDuck]

95. ... and sorry.

[niyad]

97. hugggs

[thought crime]

104. It's NOT just about PR and flags !!

Alan Shepard showed the world (this world) that a human can play golf on the moon. We have many questions left to answer. Can humans play tennis (or pickleball) on the moon? Even badminton? How about soccer (football)? And the ultimate question is, can humans play rugby on the moon without the atrocious and barbaric risk of injury that rugby on Earth poses? New Zealand, in particular, would like an answer to that important question.


Also: “Man in a Can” - that’s great!

[spanone]

38. I remember watching NASA flights through grade school...

...and high school.

They would bring a TV into class....a rather small one.

My future wife to be and I watched them step on the moon.

[Spazito]

39. I certainly was...

It brought me right back to how I felt at the time of the moon landing, Neil Armstrong taking that 'one small step' onto the moon. I was 15 at the time and worked at a Dairy Queen. The boss set up a tv for us to watch it, I will never forget it.

I was surprised at how emotional I felt watching this one, had my fingers crossed nothing would go wrong.

[llmart]

41. Me, of course.

My son has been on the Artemis program for several years as a software engineer. He works at KSC. I was so nervous when it lifted off I was holding my breath and had flashbacks to Challenger.

[malaise]

47. Wonderful

Rec

[buzzycrumbhunger]

45. We stepped out to look for it

… and it started pouring—boo hiss--so we ducked back in and watched the NASA feed. (I’m straight across on the Gulf side, in Sarasota.)

Definite flashback to the Apollo launches I watched as a kid, and having seen the Challenger explode (we were in Venice at the time and it looked like there was a weird fire just outside town at the dump, so it took a few beats to realize it actually was on the opposite coast), there’s always a sigh of relief when these go well.

[Raine]

48. Yes! nt 🙂

[JMCKUSICK]

50. How can you not?

[LiberalArkie]

51. Me Malaise.. Turned it on at 9AM this morning. I posted some links for it earlier, but I would imagine they rolled down

by now... I really hope the kids get interested like I did in the 60's with the Mercury flights.

I just want some kids to start saying I want to go to space instead of I want to be a CEO

[malthaussen]

52. Why not be a CEO in space?

You know, like Elon Musk. A great American hero if there ever was one.

But seriously, I feel kind of sad that the money-grubbing greedheads have cast the taint of their presence in space. Out There was supposed to be a place to make a new start -- not continue Business As Usual.

-- Mal

[malaise]

55. THIS

I just want some kids to start saying I want to go to space instead of I want to be a CEO
———
The current Jeopardy genius studied molecular biology. Speaks volumes. Now he’s reading for a Law degree
https://www.tvinsider.com/1252475/jeopardy-jamie-ding-champion-princeton-chicken-orange/

[malaise]

108. Here's a tracking link

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2026/04/02/where-is-artemis-2-how-to-use-artemis-ii-tracker/89437075007/

[LiberalArkie]

112. Thanks, I have been keeping this one on my big screen since I hardly ever watch TV any more

[malaise]

113. Thanks

Better one 😀

[NNadir]

54. Not me.

[CaptainTruth]

56. Watched it from my back yard! It was awesome & loud!

[malaise]

59. Fabulous

Rec

[CaptainTruth]

70. We've had five Falcon 9 launches in the last 2 weeks or so.

Kennedy has gotten really busy. I'm close enough that they rattle the house & wake me up at night. I love it!

Artemis was notably louder than an F9. I could feel the ground vibrating. Truly impressive.

Godspeed to all on board!

[Spazito]

57. A bit of trivia about the lanyards the ground crew wear around their necks for identification...

they have symbols woven in the fabric from the Anishinaabe people.

For those who may not be familiar with the Anishinaabe they are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, Mississaugas, Nipissing, and Algonquin peoples.

Given the astronauts in this mission are from both Canada and the US, choosing to do this as a symbol of that was quite moving, imo.

[malaise]

61. Very cool

Thanks for this

[llmart]

87. Nicole Mann is the first Native American chosen for the Artemis program.

She isn't on this mission but probably still in the running for the actual moon landing in a couple of years.

[Spazito]

88. I didn't know that...

thank you for sharing that, it's great news.

[llmart]

90. I actually have a picture of her with my son. Her bio is amazing as is Christina Koch's.

[Spazito]

96. I am definitely going to learn more about her...

and how lucky you and your son are to have met her and have a memento to keep.

[malaise]

109. Neither did I n/t

[electric_blue68]

101. Wow, hope so!

[Tommy Carcetti]

60. Saw it for a brief two seconds before a cloud got in the way.

Godspeed!

[angrychair]

62. I was

What a weird timing for something so amazing. They must have hide it from him or else he would have wanted it named after him.

[Collimator]

63. Because of the general awfulness of -- Everything--

I've been keeping most news at an emotional/mental arms' length. So, I didn't even know that the launch was happening today.

I just happened to turn on my TV and wander onto the CNN coverage after the launch. It's good to hear people interested and inspired again.

I'm watching people of all sorts of backgrounds sharing their enthusiasm for space exploration and the challenges of accomplishing great things and it feels very emotional as well as intellectually stimulating.

[Mr. Sparkle]

64. Nasa's coverage is so shittt ...

I think i have been spoiled by SpaceX's coverage, i had expected a lot more.

[relayerbob]

65. Absolutely!

[NH Ethylene]

66. Am I the only one still suffering from a bit of PTSD from the Challenger?

I watched this launch with trepidation, thinking 'don't blow up, don't blow up.'

[malaise]

68. No

It always comes back

[niyad]

82. No. You have much company.

[mvd]

69. I did!

I needed a non stressful news moment - and it was amazing.

[Tess49]

73. I did. n/t

[cab67]

74. my wife and 10-year-old daughter are out of state right now.

But I insisted that we all watch it together (along with my mother in law) via FaceTime.


Apollo was a huge part of my youth. I want this to be a big part of my daughter's.

[BeneteauBum]

78. I am a space exploration fanatic

Felt the excitement build as the countdown neared liftoff.

Peace ☮️

[malaise]

110. I was very nervous

Only toilet troubles so far

[AllaN01Bear]

80. ME.MYSELF and I.

watched via youtube .

[Enter stage left]

85. We watched it on Cspan. All rocket launches are spectacular...

But we saw a space shuttle launch from the space center in what we believe was 1999.

The launch went off without a delay at somewhere around 4:00AM. We were about 7-10 miles away, which was as close as we could get.

Unless you've watched a launch, you have never seen such a huge roman candle! It was a moonless night, but got as bright as sunrise within seconds.

That next morning we took the guided tour of the Kennedy space center.

We were on a shuttle within 200-300 yards of the launch site, expecting to see everything burnt to a crisp. Instead, it was pristine native undergrowth and even saw a bunny feeding on the plants.

The guide explained how they dump hundreds of thousands of gallons of water under the rocket to dampen the huge shock wave the rockets cause and to help cool the launch platform. It was amazing and fascinating, you could even refer to it as "rocket science".

If you ever get the opportunity to see a launch live or tour the facility, it is an experience you'll never forget.

[Maninacan]

102. I am

I cannot find telemetry data as good as the mars missions. Looked everywhere.

[Kid Berwyn]

103. Brought back happy memories from childhood.

I remember Mercury, Gemini and Apollo — manned ships boosted by liquid-fuel powered rockets.



The shuttle and Artemis also use solid rocket boosters, unfortunately. Cost-savings blah blah blah. NASA does the best it can with what funding it gets.

To conquer space: We need dreamers, visionaries, and all the STEAM grads we as a nation and planet can produce. And no matter the budget and leadership, the astronaut corps are the bravest of the brave.

[malaise]

111. Adding this

https://democraticunderground.com/100221140855

[marble falls]

105. All I see is dollars burning.

[electric_blue68]

106. I didn't, but it was the first thing I looked for in the news this morning! Will be following it.

I'll take a look at the launch later.

I watched a lot of the Mercury launches as a kid in Grade school as they wheeled in the 7ft TV stand (w TV 😉 )!

Once in HS (I almost never cut class) I sat in a stairwell with my dad's transistor radio to catch the Apollo 10 (May 18th 69 ) launch!

I was telling a friend yesterday about staying up late to watch the Moon landing! I was 16, my sis was 12; and we were "punch drunk" with excitement! 😄

And just as exciting my sis and I went to the NYC Tickertape Parade for the Apollo 11 astronauts!! Out first ticertape parade! Real ticker tape back then, too.
Sooo exciting!!

[Jacson6]

107. I watched, but I'm always afraid another Challenger disaster will occur.

In January 1986 we had just returned from a month long arctic training exercise in the Artillery US Army. We just entered the barracks and a Sergeant First Class turned on the TV and we watched the launch and destruction of the space ship. I will never forget that day even 40 yrs later.