Artemis II astronauts say they're "ready to go" for moon launch
The countdown to launch of the Artemis II crew's flight around the moon begins Monday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
On the eve of the launch countdown for their trip around the moon, the Artemis II astronauts said Sunday they're "ready to go" as ground teams prepare their rocket for blastoff Wednesday, weather permitting.
Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen flew to the Kennedy Space Center from Houston on Friday to prepare for launch. Isolated in medical quarantine , they fielded questions from reporters Sunday during a virtual news conference.
"Things are certainly starting to feel real here at the Cape," said Koch, who carried out six spacewalks during a 328-day expedition aboard the International Space Station in 2019-20.
"Our families joined us yesterday, and we had a chance to be in the pre-test brief[ing] for the actual starting of the launch countdown," she added. "So we're excited to be a part of all that."
The astronauts originally hoped to take off in early February , but work to fix hydrogen fuel leaks, and more recently, trouble pressurizing the rocket's upper stage propulsion system, combined to push the launch to April 1.
While the crew is optimistic about their chances of getting off the ground Wednesday, Wiseman cautioned that it is a test flight.