This is Countdown, CNN’s newsletter covering NASA’s first time sending humans to deep space in over 50 years
The Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft sit on the launchpad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
By Ashley Strickland, CNN
(CNN) — There is nothing like the excitement of a rocket launch.
I’ll never forget the feeling of being at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the highly anticipated liftoff of the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022.
I had reported on space and science news for nearly a decade, yet I was still awestruck by the sheer scale of the Space Launch System rocket.
But ahead of the launch, it was a thrill just to be granted entrance to a hallowed place steeped in spaceflight history.
There were many pinch-me moments, like sitting down for an interview with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, who seemed just as excited as I was about Artemis I; peering up at the historic Vehicle Assembly Building where launch vehicles are made as I captured video; and looking out across the water at the Artemis I rocket on the launchpad, towering above the coastal backdrop.
Now, NASA is preparing to launch Artemis II, and I can’t wait to share all of the behind-the-scenes moments that show what it’s like to bear witness to exploration history.
This upcoming mission will send a crew into deep space for the first time in more than five decades. Four astronauts are expected to lift off as soon as March 6.
The risky endeavor around the moon and back will mark the first time people have ventured beyond low-Earth orbit since the final Apollo mission in 1972 — and their unprecedented path could take them farther than any crew has ever traveled.
I invite you to join me for Countdown, your one-stop shop for the latest news and updates on the status of the Artemis II mission, the astronauts and details that reveal the story behind the story.
CNN’s Jackie Wattles and I will be on the ground at Kennedy Space Center, so look for the photos and videos we’ll be capturing, as well as other insider moments you won’t see anywhere else.
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