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The 4k video stream has been received at the ground station but the transmission to the control room in the Johnson Space Center didn't work. They looking for the error. But for the moment you can say, that laser communication works from Orion to the ground station on Earth.

The optical connection is successfully established. The ground station receives 4k data.

An optical audio and data connection is under test now. The optical, laser based, transmission system allow much higher data bandwidths as the typical radio frequency system.

Just a few pictures taken by the Artemis astronauts.

Image Credit: NASA

Currently the splashdown is planned for Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 2:05am CEST.

The crew's exercise session today is their last exercise session before returning to Earth. As of tomorrow the splashdown preparations will start. The cabin has to be prepared and splashdown procedures are been prepared.

Till now, the Artemis 2 mission is a full success and will be bring human space travel a great step forward and humanity closer to return to the moon permanently.

Currently the crew prepares to film themselves on an exercise session.

Photo: NASA TV

The Artemis 2 solar panels have been constructed at Airbus in the Netherlands. The ESM (The European Service Module) has been mainly constructed in Bremen, Germany. The module is the life boat for the Artemis program.

The splashdown of Artemis 2 will be in the night from Friday to Saturday, around 0:20am CEST.

The moon observation period also finished today. The Return trajectory burn was also already completed today.

Today Artemis 2 passed the closest approach on the Moon and the farthest distance from Earth on the Mission.

The crew sleeping period has begun now. The whole sleeping period will take around 9 hours. Not all crew members are sleeping at the same time. At least one astronaut will always be awake. In around 2 hours the closest approach to the moon will be reached.

The Download of the images and audio files from last nights observation has begun.

The toilet system is still under monitoring according to the mission status page.

In a few minutes the sleeping period for some crew members starts. In less than 3 hours they will reach the closets approach to the moon.

The Orion spacecraft with it's crew has successfully passed the the radio silence period behind the moon.

We can now already see regions on the moon that are not visible from Earth. With these two pictures we want to say good night and will continue our live coverage early in the morning.

Photos: NASA TV

The crew will later see an eclipse and a partial eclipse that is only visible from the moon. They will use the chance to observe the sun's corona. At the same time Venus, Mars and Mercury will stand close to the sun. The crew will also try to find them with their naked eyes to help manuell navigation for future Artemis astronauts.

In 1 hour and 40 minutes the crew will lose contact to Earth and in 11 hours and 30 minutes the closest approach to the moon will be reached.

From window 3 the crew can see now the crescent of the Earth and a full visible moon together.

The crew has also reported about a structure that appears in a brown colour. This is special as from Earth we can only see the bright grey and white structures.

The crew currently holds a "crew choice event", where the crew has time to name a special structure or crater or orientation with a name that is suggest then to the International Astronomical Society, same with the two crater name suggestions earlier on.

The moon becomes bigger as closer as the Orion spacecraft comes.

Photo: NASA TV

There are Go-Pro cameras on the solar wings. The reason why the live stream quality is not as good as you may would expect is that parallel all other system information has to be send back to Earth in real time as well. The bandwidth for the Go-Pro cameras was reduced to ensure security of the crew.

The crew talks often about the so-called "terminator". This is the line where daylight and night are being separated.

New pictures from the moon and the map of which craters the crew currently looks at.

Photos: NASA TV

The signal loose will take around 30 minutes and this will be in around 3 hours.

Christina Koch speaks about much more new craters than visible on photos. Some craters are very tiny.

In around 1 hour, Orion will enter into the moons gravity sphere. The closest flyby will be in about 13 hours, around 10:40 CEST tomorrow morning.

The crew constantly give detailed descriptions back to the science team of what they see. For example more impact craters close to the south pole and something that looks like snow (it will be something else) on the top of mountains. Currently they look to a double crater.

The closest approach of the Orion spacecraft to the moon will be at a distance of 4070 miles (6.500 km) from the Moon surface. In this time, the spacecraft will be in the moon shadow without connection to Earth.

The crew is making pictures and videos, writing documentation about their observations of the moon.

The crew started their discussion in preparation which elements they can see on the moon.

The crew reports that the illumination of the Earth is brighter than the one of the moon, still when they are closer to moon than to Earth and Earth appears smaller on the horizon.

In less than 20 minutes, the observation time of the moon for the crew will start.

More pictures from the Moon.

Photos: NASA TV

The name suggestions are "Integrity" and "Carroll", named after Reid Wiseman passed late wife. She died of cancer in 2020.

The crew has detected some new fresher craters that are unnamed. The crew now suggesting new names for these craters.

The Apollo 13 record is broken. The Orion spacecraft has officially travelled further away from Earth than never before.

The moon is close.

Photo: NASA TV

The crew is prepared for doing their observations.

In 6 minutes the Artemis crew will break the distance record to Earth from the Apollo program.

When the astronauts pass the far side of the moon, there will be around 21% of the far side illuminated and so visible for the astronauts.

The astronauts are seeing Asia, Africa, Oceania when they watch back to Earth now.

It's planned that all science data will be made available for the public within 6 months.

The target list for the moon flyby will be published tomorrow by NASA.

NASA confirmed that at today's test, the pressure in the Orion spaceship was not reduced. It was part of the testing plan, but not needed. The reason why it was planned, is that they expect cabin pressure reduction in future docking maneuvers.

There will be always two astronauts observing the moon. One with the camera, other with naked eyes. They will take turns. After 2-3 hours the other two astronauts will start observations.

The crew will have an average of 8 minutes to observe a single target site. Astronauts are already training their eyes by watching the moon to make the eyes used to the structures to be able to see details better tomorrow.

The crew will only see a small part of the south polar region of the moon. But what they can see, they will observe and collect information for new landing sites and a future moon base.

The observing period will take 5 hours over the illuminated and the dark side of the moon. This includes the new observation targets but also old Apollo landing sites. During the flyby around the moon the astronauts will also see an eclipse.

There will be on trajectory correction burn in the night. The burn will just take 14 seconds and stabilize the trajectory on their way around the moon.

When the astronauts sleep later on, the control room will increase the data speed between the Orion and the Earth ground station to a speed of 100Mbit/s.

In the helmet of the astronauts is a little Valve opening. This allows the astronauts to move a straw into their helmet to get food and medicine when they are in the suites. This is also being tested today.

The crew is still in the testing procedure. The capsular has low pressure at the moment and the astronauts are in their suites in the seats. Currently the pressure in the suites of Commander Reid Weisman and pilot Victor Glover is slowly reduced a little bit. It will make it easier for them to move and leave their seats in an under-pressurized capsular.

The flyby on the far side of the moon will begin tomorrow (Easter Monday) evening at around 19:00 CEST.

The astronauts have carried out the test to get into their suites in an case of emergency.

Integrity - that´s the name the crew gave to this Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 2 mission.

During the crew is doing exercise the solar arrays have to be in a stable parking position as performing exercise creates some movement over the whole Orion spacecraft. After exercising the solar arrays will be deployed again to get enough sun energy.

Currently some crew members doing their exercise. After a crew member completed exercising the crew measures the CO2 levels in the spacecraft, to see if exercising has any influence on the air in the spacecraft.

The crew members caring also their personal iPhones with them. Maybe we will also see some photos and videos made by them in the near future. But for now, the pictures and videos recorded by crew are made with professional cameras.

Tomorrow the crew will perform an emergency suite use to train a possible pressure lose in the Orion spacecraft. This is the main event for the crew members tomorrow. All crew members will simulate this training simultaneously.

Last night the Orion spacecraft has passed 50% of it's distance to the moon. The flyby on the far side of the moon is planned for Tuesday.

After Victor Glover controlled the spacecraft manually for the first time on flight day 1, today all the other crew members will get the time to manually fly Orion to get a feeling of the spacecraft.

A Waist water dump error appeared last night. The flap seems to be frozen. To unfreeze the flap, Orion has made a turn to bring the flap into sun light to unfreeze it.

The crew is awake now and is taking it's breakfast as well as doing preparations for their work day.

The crew is currently sleeping after they also proceed some fitness training, activated an agent that measures the health status and implications of the space travel. Results will be compared with results from the International Space Station and the probes taken from the crew after they returned.

A few more images form inside and outside the Orion spacecraft.

Photo: NASA TV

There have been two trajectory burns in the plan, one yesterday, one today. Both burns does not need to be proceed because the initial burn to bring Orion on the way to the moon was perfectly.

The crew not only communicates via radio with the NASA control room, they also exchange e-mails with important information about the flight.

The Orion spacecraft continues it's way to the moon. The mission is a full success until now. The Moon is already visible.

Imagines taken by the crew of the orion spacecraft.

Image Credit: NASA

All systems are normal. The crew is on the way to the moon, also taking pictures from departing Earth. We will continue tomorrow. Good night and Clear Skies.

The communication switch to the NASA Deep Space Network was successful. The crew has now a clear view to the moon surface and is taking some pictures for the world.

Orion is now almost 5.000 km away from Earth. In about 5 minutes the communication will switch from Earth satellite’s back to the Deep Space Network. Communication will remain on the DSN until orion returns to Earth.

The crew reports that everyone is well, excited and ready to go to the moon. The orion spacecraft rapidly increased speed and is now over 2.500 km away from Earth.

The translunar injection burn was successful. Orion is on it‘s way to the moon. This was also the last burn in this mission as the orbit will bring orion straight back to Earth after it passed the back side of the moon.

The translunar injection burn has started. The crew is on its way to fly around the moon.

The upcoming translunar injection burn will take about 5 minutes.

The European Service Model which brings the astronauts to the Moon is fully developed and built in Europe mainly by Airbus Defence and Space.

Today was also the first time since over 50 years were humans on a spacecraft have been communicated via the NASA Deep Space Network.

The crew now reports a stable cabine pressure. We are on „go“. The warning may results from the earlier manuel flight test of the systems by the crew.

The crew is reporting a pressure warning in the capsular. They are investigating this now. However this is not a serious cause for the moment. We still on „go“ for translunar injection.

The Artemis Management team gave the go for translunar injection around 23:15 CEST.

The translunar injection burn is scheduled for 1:49am CEST. The burn will last for five minutes and 51 seconds, sending the crew out of the low Earth orbit.

4 hours ago, the perigee raise burn was completed. This was another planned orbital adjustment. Later today the mission management will meet to give approval for the translunar injection burn that will send the astronauts towards the moon.

The Artemis 2 crew was be able to fix the toilet with the ground teams of NASA. After that the crew took a nap.

The Artemis II crew finished the configuration activities of the spacecraft, including checking the toilet system. A blinking fault light occurred.

Four small satellites, called CubeSats, have been on the SLS rocket as secondary payload. All four have been deployed to high Earth orbit. They should help to explore the space environment.

The Artemis II crew did a test where they got really close to another spacecraft. This was one of the first things the mission was supposed to do. In future docking maneuvers are planned, but not proceed today.

In the night there was a short communication blackout to the Orion capsular. The problem was resolved quickly.

Welcome to our Live Coverage of the Artemis 2 Mission

This 10 days live coverage focuses on the Artemis 2 Mission with it's crew on their journey around the moon.

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Isar Aerospace has announced that a new launch window date. The window opens tomorrow, April 9 2026 at 22:00 CEST. Our live coverage will continue tomorrow at 21:30 CEST.

Video: NSF / Isar Aerospace

Some more pictures from tonights launch pad.

Photo: NSF / Isar Aerospace

Isar Aerospace says, the delays in the launch is reason for the hold as we have left the launch window for tonight. There will be no launch today. We will keep you updated with the new launch date. This ticker will continue as soon as we have the latest information and the new launch date is announced.

Video: NSF / Isar Aerospace

We have an abort 1 second before launch. More information will follow.

Less than 2 minutes to go. Good luck and safe flight for Isar Aerospace and Spectrum 2.

We are still at automatic sequence. 3 minutes to go.

The range is clear. Countdown is under 10 minutes now, we have entered the automatic sequence range. 7 minutes to go.

The launch is delayed because there is a boat in the range area of the space port. The launch has been paused for the moment until the boat has moved out of the range of the space port.

Video: NSF / Isar Aerospace

We have a delay now. The countdown has moved to T-24 minutes.

This happens 9 months after the first test flight that crashed into the ocean. The stage engine tests of this flight have started in December 2025. Spectrum 3 is already in the final productions phase in Munich.

15 cubits are the payload of the rocket. This flight should bring them to earth orbit, the first time from continental Europe.

The German chancellor and Minister of Defence have visited the space port this week, showing that this next step in the German space industry is important. We are 15 minutes away from launch.

In the current times, independent access to space has become an important factor in the world. Today Germany and Europe will enter a new era of independent space access.

Video: NSF / Isar Aerospace

The Spectrum rocket carries more than double of the liquid oxygen then other propellant, because the rocket needs the oxygen to move in space, as it can not get oxygen naturally from the environment.

Spectrum rocket at Andøya Space Port in Norway.

Photo: NSF / Isar Aerospace

The engines can handel the sea-level conditions and the space-level conditions. This is new and special, because only one type of engine needs to be produced - 3D printed - to bring the rocket into Earth orbit.

The name Spectrum was chosen to represent the whole range of systems needed to built and launch the rocket. 1000kg of payload can be transported to Earth orbit. The engine is operated with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The rocket has 9 Engines, 8 in the lower stage, 1 engine in the upper stage.

Isar Aerospace is currently building a new productions hall in Munich to have a second and almost fully automatic production facility for the Spectrum rocket's parts.

Video: NSF / Isar Aerospace

Welcome back to our live coverage with a first look to the Spectrum rocket. It's 30 minutes to launch.

Photo: NSF / Isar Aerospace

Isar Aerospace has confirmed the launch appointment for today, March 25, 2026 at 21:00 CET from Andøya Space. Our live coverage will resume at around 20:30 CET.

Our live coverage in this ticker/thread will continue March 19, 2026 with the launch or if news are being published before.

Isar Aerospace has published a new media statement, saying they have resolved the issue with the pressurization valve. A new launch window will open no earlier than 19 March at Andøya Space Port. Isar Aerospace wants to demonstrate real progress, and have to push their systems once again to the limits to achieve that.

Isar Aerospace published a new media statement to the issue with one pressurization valve. They need additional time to complete preparations and targeted checks. The new launch time will be announced soon. This live ticker/thread remains open and updated for fresh updates.

Isar Aerospace has still not given an update to the launch window. A launch today is not realistic anymore. We will update you as soon as Isar Aerospace will publish new information. The launch will be covered in this thread/ticker.

The launch was planned for tonight 21:00 CET. Isar Aerospace has called off the launch for today and moved it to a new launch window to address an issue with a pressurization valve. The new launch window will be announced shortly. We expect it for tomorrow evening.

Welcome to our Live Coverage of Isar Aerospace launch of Spectrum.
Our live coverage will start Thursday, January 22, 2025 at 21:00 CET, focusing the second test flight launch of the Spectrum rocket from the German New Space startup Isar Aerospace from the Andøya Space Port in Norway.

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astronauts have specific orders to observe, image and describe specific regions on the moon when they flyby. One astronaut will photograph, one control, the other will observe with the naked eyes, as the pilot is flying the spacecraft.

Video: NASA TV

Video: NASA TV

Video: NASA TV

Video: NASA TV

Video: NASA TV

Video: NASA TV

Video: NASA TV

Video: NASA TV

That's all for now from our live coverage. We thank you for your attention. See you next time. Clear skies and bye bye.

Tomorrow we will open a new ticker / Thread (on BlueSky) that will cover the whole 10 days Artemis 2 mission. See you there.

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Perigee raise maneuver burn is in preparation.

All 4 solar array wings are successfully deployed. The Orion capsular is now in a low Earth orbit. Perigee raise maneuver burn in around 20 minutes will bring Orion to the highest Earth orbit before they will enter the route to the moon tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will deliver the launch videos from tonight. Available on our PeerTube plattform for everyone.

An information how we continue our live coverage over the next ten days. Tomorrow, Central European Summer Time, we will open a new live ticker / Thread (on BlueSky), to cover all milestones of the ten days mission in one big live coverage.

The solar array deployment sequence has begun. It takes a few minutes till this is completed.

Picture from the lift off

Photo: NASA TV

core stage separation successful. 10 minutes till the upper stage separation.

The trajectory is good. Everything goes according to plan.

communication checks with the crew are good. GPS is well too. Commander Reid confirms.

Main engine cut off successful. All systems are green. The upper stage is on the way to space.

Humans are on the way back to the moon, with the strongest rocket humans have ever built.

And we have a lift off of Artemis 2.

1 minute to launch.

Engine test successful. Now the rocket is on battery power.

The core stage tanks are ready for launch. The automatic preparation for launch is working fine.

The crew has now also control about the flight termination system that separates the Orion capsular from the rocket in case of an emergency.

We are 7 minutes to the next milestone of humanity. The crew access arm has moved away from the rocket.

Everyone is on "go". The countdown T-10 minutes has started.

There was a 5 seconds data lose in the logs. This was resolved and data logs are running well. No constrains at the moment.

There is a few more work to do. The launch will delay a bit and not happen straight at the opening at the launch window. The countdown is on hold now.

In the two hours launch window, we have a 15 minutes window, where no launch can happen. The check list during the launch window has around 200 milestones to check.

The battery error occurred was a sensor error. We have a "go" for launch. less than 15 minutes till the launch window opens.

From the flight director we got a "go" for launch. Less than 30 minutes until the launch window opens. If we are on "go", we will get a T-10 minutes launch countdown.

The white room is now detached from the Orion capsular. Launch preparations continue. We are around 45 minutes until the Launch window opens.

Another error occurred. A temperature sensor at one of the two batteries is out of range. The teams are checking if this is a problem with the sensor or with the battery itself.

There are training tools on Orion to allow the astronauts to do sports. They also have a kind of hammock like in the International Space Station to sleep.

The crew has a heating suite case to heat up there meals. This is picture of the meals and beverages the astronauts have available on Artemis 2.

Photo: NASA TV

The whole Artemis 2 Mission takes around 10 days, with different stage of where the mission could be aboard and to bring the crew secure back home.

We are around one hour away from opening the launch window. This is another major step forward for humanity in space. The return to the moon is a cooperative project between so many nations. It's a worlds job to bring humans permanently to the moon.

The rain storms around Kennedy have been moved away and there is a 80% "go" for launch during the launch window.

The error in the flight termination system has been resolved. The range of the system is "go". A good message for the launch.

Astronauts on Artemis 2 are using tablets to check and make notes during the mission. Christina Koch is the first woman to fly around the moon. Victor Glover is the first black person to fly around the moon.

Photo: NASA TV

An error in the Launch termination system was detected. A special technician is working to analyze the error with a tool that was already in use in the Space Shuttle era. The countdown continues but if the error remains, we have a "No Go" for launch.

Pictures from the Launch Pad


Photo: NASA TV

The crew is no in the Orion capsular and the support technicians help them to prepare everything for them to have a secure flight.

The crew will orbit Earth for around 6 days until they reach the correct orbit and speed to go to the moon.

The capsule carrying the crew will go to the furthest point from Earth that a human has ever reached. When they pass the back of the Moon, the capsule will be 400,000 km away from Earth.

The crew has reached the top of the rocket, getting their communication devices and space suites before entering the space capsular. The crew that flies to the moon: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen

4 hours to Launch and the Artemis 2 crew has entered the lift at the launch ramp to go into the capsular.

Today's launch window opens at 0:24 CEST in the night. The Launch window is about 2 hours.

Update from the propellant loading. The Core stage status of liquid hydrogen is 100%. The liquid oxygen tank is at 70 %. The upper stage has 72 % of liquid hydrogen.

A first update: The propellant loading is in a successful progress. The core stage is loaded with 96% liquid hydrogen and 62% liquid oxygen. The loading with liquid hydrogen of the upper stage has started.

Welcome to our Live Coverage of the launch of the Artemis 2 Mission

Our live coverage will start April 1, 2025 at 22:30 CEST, focusing the return of humans to the moon.

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