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♪ ♪

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GENE CERNAN:
We leave as we came,

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and, God willing,
as we shall return.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
After more than 50 years,

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humanity has finally returned
to the moon.

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♪ ♪

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To get there, NASA needed
a new rocket that packs a punch.

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BILL NELSON:
8.8 million pounds of thrust

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at liftoff.

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REID WISEMAN:
I call it the arrogance
of humanity.

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The fact that we think we can
launch machinery like this,

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it just leaves you
with a sense of awe.

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NARRATOR:
How did they build it?

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JOHN BLEVINS:
This is like no other kind
of atmospheric machine.

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We design for every iteration

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that could occur
between liftoff and orbit.

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MAN:
Copy, burning.

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NARRATOR:
What were they up against?

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MAN:
Copy.

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ANDREA LEINFELDER:
China's space program
is more advanced

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than I think a lot of people
realize.

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ERIC BERGER:
When you see something
that anomalous

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on a critical system
like the heat shield,

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where there's no backup,

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that really raises
your concerns.

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(explosion echoes)

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MAGGIE ADERIN:
They've mitigated the risk
as much as possible,

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but there still could be

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a catastrophic failure
and loss of life.

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NARRATOR:
The inside story of Artemis II,

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from design to splashdown.

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"Return to the Moon,"
right now, on "NOVA. "

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
April 1, 2026.

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It's launch day
for the crew of Artemis II.

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♪ ♪

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Commander Reid Wiseman,

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pilot Victor Glover...

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...two mission specialists,
Christina Koch

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and Canadian Jeremy Hansen.

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They're about to fly
on the most powerful rocket

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NASA has ever built,
the Space Launch System.

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♪ ♪

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WISEMAN:
As you get out to the pad,
you can look all the way up

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and see the top of the rocket.

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It's full of fuel,
so it'll be venting,

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it'll be cold,
it'll be alive.

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♪ ♪

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And we are just
teeny, tiny specks

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amongst this 280-foot-tall
rocket in front of us.

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We'll get in an elevator,

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we'll ride that elevator
up to the 274 level.

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And we walk down the gantry
to the White Room.

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Put on our helmet,
put on our gloves,

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make sure we look good
from head to toe,

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and then one at a time,
we'll go into the Orion

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and start getting strapped in.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
Artemis II is the first crewed
mission to the moon

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in over 50 years.

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The astronauts will travel
farther from Earth

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than any humans
have traveled before,

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paving the way
for future missions

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to land on the lunar surface.

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♪ ♪

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ADERIN:
When a rocket launch is
going ahead,

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it is almost
like poetry in motion.

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Everything has to be
in perfect alignment

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before they will give
the go-ahead for a launch.

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♪ ♪

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BERGER:
You've got four human beings

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sitting on top
of a massive bomb.

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If the detonation is controlled
properly,

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then the rocket goes up
and they go to space.

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But if something goes wrong,
that rocket blows up.

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♪ ♪

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JEFF SPAULDING (on radio):
OTC.

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WOMAN (on radio):
TC is go.

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NARRATOR:
It's taken decades to get here.

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The risks are enormous.

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SPAULDING (on radio):
MCO.

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MAN (on radio):
T.O. is go.

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NARRATOR:
But now it's finally time.

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Time for humans to go back
to the moon.

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WISEMAN (on radio):
Artemis II crew
is go for launch.

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CHARLIE BLACKWELL-THOMPSON
(on radio): I copy that.

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Good luck.

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Godspeed, Artemis II.

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Let's go.

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♪ ♪

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
Three years before
the launch of Artemis II,

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NASA launches Artemis I.

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A test flight
to the moon and back

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without astronauts on board.

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♪ ♪

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BLACKWELL-THOMPSON:
There are things that we've done
many times in sims,

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and we've done them
many times in the lab,

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but in a tanked configuration
at the pad,

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it was the first time.

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It is incredibly quiet
in the room.

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Everybody is focused
on their system,

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they're focused on the data.

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I mean, there's not a sound.

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♪ ♪

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NARRATOR:
It's the first flight

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of the Space Launch System--

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SLS--

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the rocket specially built
for the Artemis program.

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Five million pounds of fuel

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has to ignite on cue

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to lift the rocket into space.

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BERGER: Rockets are insanely
complex vehicles

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where everything has to
go right for it to succeed,

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and if a single important thing
goes wrong,

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the rocket blows up.

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I mean, it is the ultimate
kind of pass-fail test.

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DERROL NAIL:
And here we go.

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MAN (on radio):
Ten...

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BLACKWELL-THOMPSON:
I got a bit of a...

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The hair on my arms stood up
just a little bit

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as those final six seconds
ticked off the countdown clock.

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NAIL:
Six, five, four,

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stage engine start.

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BLACKWELL-THOMPSON:
And then the call.

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"Booster, ignition,
and liftoff."

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NAIL:
Three, two, one...

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BLACKWELL-THOMPSON:
"Liftoff of Artemis I."

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(engines roaring)

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♪ ♪

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It was...

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It was breathtaking.

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LEAH CHESHIER:
Good control on the roll

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from teams on mission control,
Houston.

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All good calls so far,

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now 30 seconds
into the flight of Artemis I.

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NARRATOR:
The SLS is a multi-stage rocket.

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Once each stage, or section
of the rocket, has done its job,

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it separates.

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The spacecraft becomes lighter,

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better able to accelerate
into space.

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♪ ♪

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Within two hours,
all that remains is Orion,

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the crew and service modules

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heading away from Earth.

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♪ ♪

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It takes five days
to reach the moon,

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where Orion settles
into lunar orbit,

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allowing mission controllers

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to test its flight systems
in deep space.

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♪ ♪

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MIKE SARAFIN:
For me, one of the highlights

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was seeing the Earth

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pass behind the moon

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and disappear,

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and then come out
the other side.

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♪ ♪

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Eight billion people

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disappeared behind
the only other place

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that humanity had ever been.

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I, I've had a different
perspective

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every time I've looked
at the moon since then.

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♪ ♪

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ROB NAVIAS:
NASA's newest moon explorer

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is barreling its way back home

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after circumnavigating the moon
and beyond.

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NARRATOR:
When Artemis I returns
from the moon,

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Orion is traveling
7,500 miles per hour faster

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than a spacecraft coming back
from low-Earth orbit.

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As it hits the upper atmosphere,

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friction generates intense heat
and super-hot plasma

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visible through
the capsule window.

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(whistling)

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The only protection
from this inferno

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is a heat shield
an inch and a half thick.

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SARAFIN:
Demonstrating the heat shield
at lunar re-entry velocities

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was our number-one priority,

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because temperatures outside
got half as hot as the sun,

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approaching
5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

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(popping)

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When you come back
from the moon,

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you're coming back at Mach 32,

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or 24,500 miles an hour.

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In fact, we came back
at 24,581 miles an hour.

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We were 81 miles an hour
over the speed limit.

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♪ ♪

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NAVIAS:
And there it is.

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5,000 feet.

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Three good main chutes
for Orion.

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Orion in the perfect orientation
for splashdown.

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Just seconds away.

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NARRATOR:
Half an hour earlier,

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Orion was hurtling towards Earth

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at 32 times the speed of sound.

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When it hits the water,

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it's falling
at less than 20 miles an hour.

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The idea for Artemis II

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is to go back to the moon,

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but this time

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with a crew of astronauts
on board.

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♪ ♪

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They'll do a single wide loop,

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flying more than 4,000 miles
beyond the moon--

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the farthest any human
has been into space--

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before returning to Earth.

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ADERIN:
Artemis I was about

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testing the hardware,

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making sure
that everything would work

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going to the moon and back.

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Now they're putting people
on board,

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and people, of course,
there is a sense of danger,

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a sense of trepidation.

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It just

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00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:31,233
amps up the safety factor,
right?

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With Artemis I,
a failure will be bad, right?

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But it wouldn't
have been catastrophic.

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00:10:36,133 --> 00:10:37,800
If you lose the human crew
on Artemis II,

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that is catastrophic.

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That calls into question

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the future
of the whole Artemis program.

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(applauding)

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NARRATOR:
In April 2023,

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00:10:45,500 --> 00:10:48,500
the Artemis II crew
is announced:

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00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:51,100
Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover,

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Christina Koch,
and Jeremy Hansen.

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They'll be the first humans
to leave Earth's orbit

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since Apollo 17
in December 1972.

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00:11:02,933 --> 00:11:05,400
HARRISON SCHMITT (on radio):
Hello, Houston!

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00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:06,966
BOB PARKER (on radio):
(indistinct) 17, loud and clear.

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00:11:06,966 --> 00:11:09,333
CERNAN (on radio):
♪ Hippity hoppity,
hippity hoppity ♪

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00:11:09,333 --> 00:11:12,766
♪ Hippity hopping
over hill and dale ♪

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00:11:12,766 --> 00:11:16,300
(vocalizing)

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TIM PEAKE:
Artemis intrinsically builds

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on the legacy of Apollo.

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00:11:20,866 --> 00:11:23,266
We stand on the shoulders
of giants,

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and we've learnt so much in
human exploration,

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but, of course, returning
to the moon,

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00:11:27,266 --> 00:11:28,866
when we haven't done that
for over 50 years,

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we are looking back to Apollo.

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We're, we're making
those comparisons.

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CERNAN (on radio):
By golly, this time goes fast!

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BERGER:
Apollo was clearly
a program designed

246
00:11:40,266 --> 00:11:43,433
to demonstrate U.S. superiority
in technology

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00:11:43,433 --> 00:11:45,800
compared to the Soviet Union.

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00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:46,933
And it was successful in that.

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00:11:46,933 --> 00:11:48,233
And then, once it completed
that task,

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00:11:48,233 --> 00:11:50,933
they shut it down,
because it cost a lot of money

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00:11:50,933 --> 00:11:52,033
and every time they launched,

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there was a ten or 15 percent
chance

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00:11:54,333 --> 00:11:56,166
that the crew would not
come back safely.

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NARRATOR:
In only three-and-a-half years,

255
00:11:59,633 --> 00:12:04,033
the Apollo program completed
a total of six lunar landings

256
00:12:04,033 --> 00:12:09,566
at a cost equivalent
to $280 billion today.

257
00:12:11,066 --> 00:12:13,533
CERNAN (on radio):
We leave as we came,

258
00:12:13,533 --> 00:12:16,233
and, God willing,
as we shall return.

259
00:12:18,233 --> 00:12:21,000
With peace and in hope

260
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,566
for all mankind.

261
00:12:24,900 --> 00:12:27,233
BERGER:
If you look at NASA's budget,

262
00:12:27,233 --> 00:12:29,466
in the 1960s, at its peak,

263
00:12:29,466 --> 00:12:32,100
it was drawing down five percent
of the federal budget.

264
00:12:32,100 --> 00:12:35,433
NASA's budget today is 0.5%.

265
00:12:35,433 --> 00:12:37,300
So, so ten times less,

266
00:12:37,300 --> 00:12:41,166
or one-tenth of what it was
back in the 1960s.

267
00:12:41,166 --> 00:12:42,966
And NASA is sort of building
the Artemis program

268
00:12:42,966 --> 00:12:44,233
within that budget.

269
00:12:44,233 --> 00:12:49,466
♪ ♪

270
00:12:52,300 --> 00:12:57,333
(Debussy's
"Clair de Lune" playing)

271
00:12:57,333 --> 00:13:00,100
NARRATOR:
Despite having much less money,

272
00:13:00,100 --> 00:13:02,566
the long-term ambition
for Artemis

273
00:13:02,566 --> 00:13:05,266
far exceeds that of Apollo.

274
00:13:07,300 --> 00:13:10,466
Rather than simply landing
astronauts on the moon

275
00:13:10,466 --> 00:13:13,200
for a few days at a time,

276
00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:17,366
the goal is
to establish a moon base

277
00:13:17,366 --> 00:13:22,533
where humans can live and work
long-term.

278
00:13:22,533 --> 00:13:25,933
(piece ends)

279
00:13:27,866 --> 00:13:30,033
During the Apollo program,

280
00:13:30,033 --> 00:13:32,400
each landing
was at a different site,

281
00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,800
clustered
around the lunar equator.

282
00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:37,466
With the Artemis program,

283
00:13:37,466 --> 00:13:42,266
the plan for future missions
is to land near the south pole.

284
00:13:43,533 --> 00:13:46,066
This part of the moon
has deep craters

285
00:13:46,066 --> 00:13:48,333
where the sun never shines.

286
00:13:48,333 --> 00:13:51,533
They're thought to contain
huge deposits of water

287
00:13:51,533 --> 00:13:53,566
in the form of ice.

288
00:13:54,833 --> 00:13:57,166
PEAKE:
Where you have ice,
you have the ability

289
00:13:57,166 --> 00:13:59,800
to melt that
and, and provide drinking water,

290
00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:01,866
clearly, for habitation modules,

291
00:14:01,866 --> 00:14:04,600
but also then the potential
to split that water

292
00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:09,166
into hydrogen and oxygen gas,
which can be used for atmosphere

293
00:14:09,166 --> 00:14:12,333
and it can also be used
for potential rocket fuel.

294
00:14:14,266 --> 00:14:16,500
NARRATOR:
But NASA isn't the only one

295
00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:20,133
eyeing this prime real estate.

296
00:14:21,866 --> 00:14:25,833
NELSON:
China has already announced
their intention

297
00:14:25,833 --> 00:14:29,866
to land with their astronauts--

298
00:14:29,866 --> 00:14:31,733
they call them taikonauts--

299
00:14:31,733 --> 00:14:34,466
on the south pole of the moon.

300
00:14:36,133 --> 00:14:38,466
On the schedule that we are,

301
00:14:38,466 --> 00:14:42,600
we will land before the Chinese.

302
00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:44,300
But it is a race.

303
00:14:44,300 --> 00:14:47,133
♪ ♪

304
00:14:47,133 --> 00:14:48,766
BERGER:
I do think
getting back there first

305
00:14:48,766 --> 00:14:50,400
matters a heck of a lot.

306
00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:52,966
China would turn that into a
huge win.

307
00:14:52,966 --> 00:14:55,900
Um, just, just sort of saying

308
00:14:55,900 --> 00:14:57,566
that, "This is the century of
China.

309
00:14:57,566 --> 00:14:59,633
"Look, we've surpassed the
United States.

310
00:14:59,633 --> 00:15:02,400
They can't get back to the moon,
we can."

311
00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:03,600
That's really why we're going.

312
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,100
There's, there's kind of
a geopolitical imperative

313
00:15:05,100 --> 00:15:06,500
at this time.

314
00:15:08,633 --> 00:15:10,400
LEINFELDER:
China's space program
is more advanced

315
00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:12,933
than I think a lot of people
realize,

316
00:15:12,933 --> 00:15:14,500
and it is hitting its deadlines

317
00:15:14,500 --> 00:15:17,133
and meeting a lot of
critical milestones.

318
00:15:17,133 --> 00:15:19,266
NASA's program,

319
00:15:19,266 --> 00:15:20,866
the deadlines keep
getting pushed back,

320
00:15:20,866 --> 00:15:22,966
and so there is concern

321
00:15:22,966 --> 00:15:25,866
that China's accelerating
and NASA's not keeping up.

322
00:15:28,866 --> 00:15:31,033
NARRATOR:
The pressure is on

323
00:15:31,033 --> 00:15:34,266
to speed up the Artemis program

324
00:15:34,266 --> 00:15:37,166
and get its astronauts
to the moon.

325
00:15:37,166 --> 00:15:38,766
♪ ♪

326
00:15:38,766 --> 00:15:41,000
With this goal in mind,

327
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:44,533
thousands of people at sites
across the U.S. and in Europe

328
00:15:44,533 --> 00:15:47,433
are developing hardware
for Artemis II.

329
00:15:47,433 --> 00:15:49,566
(engines roaring)

330
00:15:49,566 --> 00:15:51,633
♪ ♪

331
00:15:51,633 --> 00:15:53,366
They're building a spacecraft

332
00:15:53,366 --> 00:15:56,133
capable of taking astronauts
to the moon

333
00:15:56,133 --> 00:15:57,600
and returning them safely

334
00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:00,433
for the first time
since the Apollo era.

335
00:16:00,433 --> 00:16:04,566
♪ ♪

336
00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,166
The rocket that'll get them
into space

337
00:16:09,166 --> 00:16:13,900
is the SLS,
the Space Launch System.

338
00:16:13,900 --> 00:16:18,900
Its huge core stage contains
the fuel tanks and main engines.

339
00:16:18,900 --> 00:16:22,533
Alongside are
two solid-fuel boosters

340
00:16:22,533 --> 00:16:25,166
to provide extra thrust
at launch.

341
00:16:25,166 --> 00:16:27,000
♪ ♪

342
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,700
Above is the upper stage
and service module,

343
00:16:30,700 --> 00:16:33,000
which power the vehicle
in space.

344
00:16:34,933 --> 00:16:37,666
And finally, the crew module

345
00:16:37,666 --> 00:16:39,566
that carries the astronauts

346
00:16:39,566 --> 00:16:42,033
on their journey to the moon.

347
00:16:42,033 --> 00:16:43,533
♪ ♪

348
00:16:43,533 --> 00:16:46,666
(birds cawing)

349
00:16:49,733 --> 00:16:54,066
♪ ♪

350
00:16:54,066 --> 00:16:56,866
On the outskirts of New Orleans,

351
00:16:56,866 --> 00:16:59,066
the core stage of the SLS

352
00:16:59,066 --> 00:17:01,866
is leaving the hangar
in which it's been assembled.

353
00:17:01,866 --> 00:17:04,800
♪ ♪

354
00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,000
Over 200 feet long,

355
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,800
it is the single
largest rocket stage

356
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,000
NASA has ever built.

357
00:17:13,866 --> 00:17:17,833
(exclaiming and talking
in background)

358
00:17:17,833 --> 00:17:19,033
(laughing and talking)

359
00:17:19,033 --> 00:17:21,333
WISEMAN:
When you see SLS,
you think scale.

360
00:17:21,333 --> 00:17:23,366
You do not understand scale

361
00:17:23,366 --> 00:17:25,300
until you go see that thing
in real life.

362
00:17:25,300 --> 00:17:28,266
♪ ♪

363
00:17:28,266 --> 00:17:30,533
I call it the arrogance
of humanity.

364
00:17:30,533 --> 00:17:33,633
The fact that we think we can
assemble machinery like this

365
00:17:33,633 --> 00:17:35,566
and launch it successfully.

366
00:17:35,566 --> 00:17:38,366
It, it just leaves you
with a sense of awe.

367
00:17:38,366 --> 00:17:43,266
NARRATOR:
The core stage contains
two massive aluminum fuel tanks,

368
00:17:43,266 --> 00:17:48,366
which at launch will be filled
with liquid hydrogen and oxygen.

369
00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,300
Liquid hydrogen generates
more thrust per pound

370
00:17:52,300 --> 00:17:55,433
than any other rocket fuel,

371
00:17:55,433 --> 00:17:59,900
but its molecules are so light
and loosely packed together,

372
00:17:59,900 --> 00:18:05,200
it needs more storage space
than any other fuel.

373
00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:10,066
That's why the core stage
is so large.

374
00:18:10,066 --> 00:18:12,433
ADERIN: Liquid hydrogen
is the rocket fuel of choice,

375
00:18:12,433 --> 00:18:13,933
and you can see why.

376
00:18:13,933 --> 00:18:15,233
It packs a punch--

377
00:18:15,233 --> 00:18:16,666
it will get people to the moon.

378
00:18:16,666 --> 00:18:19,233
But it is incredibly
hard to handle.

379
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,533
It needs to be kept
at temperatures of -250 Celsius.

380
00:18:24,533 --> 00:18:27,433
The fuel lines,
the tank itself,

381
00:18:27,433 --> 00:18:30,333
everything has to be kept
at that temperature

382
00:18:30,333 --> 00:18:33,366
or the liquid hydrogen
will start to evaporate,

383
00:18:33,366 --> 00:18:34,733
to expand.

384
00:18:35,966 --> 00:18:37,933
Now, imagine,
if your liquid hydrogen

385
00:18:37,933 --> 00:18:39,366
starts expanding in the tank,

386
00:18:39,366 --> 00:18:40,866
the tank will explode.

387
00:18:40,866 --> 00:18:42,200
And so everything has to be kept

388
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,400
at that low, low temperature,

389
00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:46,533
so that everything stays
in its liquid form.

390
00:18:46,533 --> 00:18:50,933
♪ ♪

391
00:18:50,933 --> 00:18:52,933
NARRATOR:
60% of space shuttle launches

392
00:18:52,933 --> 00:18:54,766
had to be postponed,

393
00:18:54,766 --> 00:18:58,866
often due to problems
with hydrogen fueling.

394
00:19:00,966 --> 00:19:05,566
The worry is Artemis will
suffer the same complications.

395
00:19:06,533 --> 00:19:08,666
(engines roaring)

396
00:19:08,666 --> 00:19:12,166
ANNOUNCER:
Liftoff of the 25th
space shuttle mission,

397
00:19:12,166 --> 00:19:14,766
and it has cleared the tower.

398
00:19:16,066 --> 00:19:21,400
NARRATOR:
NASA knows just how dangerous
rocket fuel can be at launch.

399
00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,566
MAN (on radio):
Normal throttles for most
of the flight, 104%.

400
00:19:25,866 --> 00:19:27,333
NARRATOR:
When the fuel tank

401
00:19:27,333 --> 00:19:29,366
of the Challenger
space shuttle ruptured,

402
00:19:29,366 --> 00:19:31,400
liquid hydrogen ignited...

403
00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:33,466
MAN (on radio):
Challenger, go with throttle up.

404
00:19:33,466 --> 00:19:35,733
NARRATOR:
...causing a catastrophic
explosion...

405
00:19:35,733 --> 00:19:38,766
(explosion roars)

406
00:19:38,766 --> 00:19:40,933
♪ ♪

407
00:19:40,933 --> 00:19:44,733
...that took the lives
of seven astronauts.

408
00:19:44,733 --> 00:19:47,300
MAN (on radio):
Obviously a major malfunction.

409
00:19:47,300 --> 00:19:52,833
NARRATOR:
Such disasters have led NASA
to prioritize safety over speed.

410
00:19:54,033 --> 00:19:57,733
♪ ♪

411
00:19:57,733 --> 00:20:00,466
The core stage of the SLS

412
00:20:00,466 --> 00:20:03,466
is transported very slowly
and carefully by barge

413
00:20:03,466 --> 00:20:06,633
900 miles to
Kennedy Space Center,

414
00:20:06,633 --> 00:20:09,566
where it will eventually launch.

415
00:20:11,700 --> 00:20:13,266
On arrival,

416
00:20:13,266 --> 00:20:15,500
it's taken to
the vehicle assembly building,

417
00:20:15,500 --> 00:20:18,033
the largest single-story
building

418
00:20:18,033 --> 00:20:19,700
in the world.

419
00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:22,466
♪ ♪

420
00:20:22,466 --> 00:20:26,133
The head of NASA at the time,
Bill Nelson,

421
00:20:26,133 --> 00:20:28,666
is taking a look for himself.

422
00:20:29,733 --> 00:20:31,666
NELSON:
That core stage

423
00:20:31,666 --> 00:20:34,266
packs a big punch

424
00:20:34,266 --> 00:20:38,000
in those four engines
right there.

425
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,433
By the way, those engines
were the same engines

426
00:20:41,433 --> 00:20:43,600
that were on the space shuttle.

427
00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,366
(engines roaring)

428
00:20:46,366 --> 00:20:48,500
But instead of throwing them
away,

429
00:20:48,500 --> 00:20:50,366
we're using them.

430
00:20:53,300 --> 00:20:57,166
NARRATOR:
In order to support the
existing aerospace industry,

431
00:20:57,166 --> 00:21:02,866
Congress mandated NASA to reuse
and update the RS-25 engines

432
00:21:02,866 --> 00:21:05,866
that had previously powered
the space shuttle.

433
00:21:05,866 --> 00:21:07,666
♪ ♪

434
00:21:07,666 --> 00:21:10,400
Congress basically told NASA

435
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,900
that it's going to use
contracts, workforce, systems

436
00:21:13,900 --> 00:21:17,266
from the shuttle,
from previous programs.

437
00:21:17,266 --> 00:21:19,900
(engine roaring)

438
00:21:19,900 --> 00:21:22,033
NARRATOR:
Developed in the 1970s

439
00:21:22,033 --> 00:21:25,033
to deliver maximum thrust
from liquid hydrogen,

440
00:21:25,033 --> 00:21:30,233
RS-25s were known as the Ferrari
of rocket engines.

441
00:21:31,233 --> 00:21:34,933
But reusing them
comes at a cost.

442
00:21:34,933 --> 00:21:37,600
BERGER:
The space shuttle main engines
were great engines,

443
00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,033
just brilliant engineering.

444
00:21:40,033 --> 00:21:43,600
But it turns out, if you want a,
an affordable space program,

445
00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:45,966
you don't want to be launching
Ferraris in space,

446
00:21:45,966 --> 00:21:47,400
especially if, like,
you, you drive it one time

447
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:48,633
and the car goes away.

448
00:21:49,700 --> 00:21:53,733
NARRATOR:
The RS-25s were originally
designed to be reusable.

449
00:21:53,733 --> 00:21:55,733
But on Artemis,

450
00:21:55,733 --> 00:21:58,366
each of them will be flown
only once,

451
00:21:58,366 --> 00:22:00,466
and then discarded.

452
00:22:01,966 --> 00:22:04,333
BERGER:
If you total up all the money
that NASA's spending,

453
00:22:04,333 --> 00:22:08,600
the cost
of the, a single RS-25 engine

454
00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:12,433
is between 100 and 140 million
U.S. dollars.

455
00:22:12,433 --> 00:22:16,500
SpaceX is building
a comparable Raptor engine

456
00:22:16,500 --> 00:22:20,266
for $500,000--
half a million.

457
00:22:21,733 --> 00:22:23,033
If you were starting
from a clean sheet,

458
00:22:23,033 --> 00:22:26,066
this is probably not
what you would've designed,

459
00:22:26,066 --> 00:22:28,400
but given all the political,

460
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:30,266
um, financial,
and technical realities,

461
00:22:30,266 --> 00:22:31,533
it is the systems we have,

462
00:22:31,533 --> 00:22:33,300
it's the best shot we have
to get to the moon

463
00:22:33,300 --> 00:22:34,600
in the next few years,

464
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:36,166
and so NASA is making
the best of it.

465
00:22:38,133 --> 00:22:40,433
NARRATOR:
The engines need to generate
enough thrust

466
00:22:40,433 --> 00:22:42,833
to get the rocket into space,

467
00:22:42,833 --> 00:22:47,133
balancing the rocket equation,

468
00:22:47,133 --> 00:22:51,733
which determines the ratio
of fuel to mass to thrust

469
00:22:51,733 --> 00:22:55,966
required
for a successful launch.

470
00:22:55,966 --> 00:22:57,700
BLEVINS:
Physics doesn't read PowerPoint.

471
00:22:57,700 --> 00:22:59,200
It doesn't read our reports.

472
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:00,833
It doesn't care about any of
that.

473
00:23:00,833 --> 00:23:02,266
So, the rocket equation

474
00:23:02,266 --> 00:23:03,566
is simply a representation

475
00:23:03,566 --> 00:23:05,966
of the physical requirements
to cheat gravity.

476
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,366
NARRATOR:
The "tyranny
of the rocket equation"

477
00:23:10,366 --> 00:23:13,900
is that heavy rockets
require more fuel,

478
00:23:13,900 --> 00:23:16,866
but more fuel
makes rockets heavier,

479
00:23:16,866 --> 00:23:19,700
requiring even more fuel.

480
00:23:19,700 --> 00:23:25,333
A fully loaded SLS weighs
5.7 million pounds.

481
00:23:25,333 --> 00:23:27,900
Five million of that is fuel.

482
00:23:27,900 --> 00:23:30,500
BLEVINS:
90% of the entire mass
that we've got

483
00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:31,866
is chemical energy.

484
00:23:31,866 --> 00:23:34,033
And a good bit
of the rest of that mass

485
00:23:34,033 --> 00:23:36,400
is actually structure
to hold that chemical energy.

486
00:23:38,333 --> 00:23:42,533
We're going from zero velocity
sitting on a launchpad

487
00:23:42,533 --> 00:23:44,800
to 32,000 feet per second.

488
00:23:45,833 --> 00:23:48,633
That's an incredible
energy ride.

489
00:23:48,633 --> 00:23:50,733
So, we continually accelerate.

490
00:23:50,733 --> 00:23:54,966
So, this is like no other kind
of atmospheric machine.

491
00:23:54,966 --> 00:23:56,600
It's not like airplanes.

492
00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:57,833
It's not like cars.

493
00:23:57,833 --> 00:24:00,366
We don't get
to a cruising speed and stop.

494
00:24:00,366 --> 00:24:03,866
And so, we design for every
iteration that could occur

495
00:24:03,866 --> 00:24:06,666
between liftoff and orbit.

496
00:24:14,500 --> 00:24:16,166
NARRATOR:
Since the 1960s,

497
00:24:16,166 --> 00:24:18,566
NASA rockets
have been designed here,

498
00:24:18,566 --> 00:24:22,633
at Marshall Space Flight Center
in Alabama.

499
00:24:22,633 --> 00:24:24,233
FILM NARRATOR:
Out of this center

500
00:24:24,233 --> 00:24:25,600
will come the vehicles

501
00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:30,066
that will carry the United
States into outer space.

502
00:24:30,066 --> 00:24:34,066
♪ ♪

503
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,200
NARRATOR:
Its historic wind tunnel

504
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:42,533
is still used to test
the aerodynamics of the SLS.

505
00:24:44,066 --> 00:24:46,866
BLEVINS:
There's a joke around
Marshall Space Flight Center

506
00:24:46,866 --> 00:24:49,533
that, "In God we trust,
everybody else bring data."

507
00:24:49,533 --> 00:24:52,000
♪ ♪

508
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,633
NARRATOR:
By inserting a scale model
of the SLS

509
00:24:54,633 --> 00:24:56,033
into the wind tunnel

510
00:24:56,033 --> 00:24:58,100
and blowing air over it,

511
00:24:58,100 --> 00:25:01,800
engineers can study the forces
acting on the rocket

512
00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,433
as it accelerates into space.

513
00:25:06,066 --> 00:25:08,600
BLEVINS:
This is 25,000 to 50,000 feet,

514
00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,066
and air molecules
pile up on each other.

515
00:25:11,066 --> 00:25:14,400
They create a very dense
layer of air,

516
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,300
and so that's what we call
a shock wave,

517
00:25:16,300 --> 00:25:18,166
and so once,
once we get supersonic,

518
00:25:18,166 --> 00:25:19,633
we'll see these
all over the vehicle.

519
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,366
That dictates our stability
and our control system,

520
00:25:24,366 --> 00:25:26,633
and this gives us
all the data that we need

521
00:25:26,633 --> 00:25:28,366
in order to control the rocket.

522
00:25:30,500 --> 00:25:34,400
NARRATOR:
This data can be used to create
computer simulations

523
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,500
that plot every second
of the rocket's journey.

524
00:25:39,700 --> 00:25:42,600
Rocket science has a thousand
different parts,

525
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:43,866
a thousand different components

526
00:25:43,866 --> 00:25:45,533
that have to be done perfectly.

527
00:25:45,533 --> 00:25:48,066
It's not just focusing
on one big task.

528
00:25:48,066 --> 00:25:49,566
It's all these little parts.

529
00:25:49,566 --> 00:25:50,933
And when they all come together,

530
00:25:50,933 --> 00:25:52,633
they don't always work
seamlessly.

531
00:25:52,633 --> 00:25:55,266
And so that's why all of
this stuff has to be checked

532
00:25:55,266 --> 00:25:57,133
and tested so rigorously.

533
00:25:58,333 --> 00:25:59,933
NARRATOR:
At the top of the spacecraft

534
00:25:59,933 --> 00:26:02,066
sits the Orion capsule,

535
00:26:02,066 --> 00:26:04,666
which carries
the four astronauts.

536
00:26:04,666 --> 00:26:08,000
Its cabin is 50% larger
than on Apollo--

537
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,433
about the size
of a passenger van.

538
00:26:11,466 --> 00:26:14,066
But before it can go
to the moon,

539
00:26:14,066 --> 00:26:16,833
it needs to be certified ready
to fly.

540
00:26:16,833 --> 00:26:22,333
♪ ♪

541
00:26:22,333 --> 00:26:25,900
To do this, engineers are
running post-flight tests

542
00:26:25,900 --> 00:26:28,500
on the returned capsule
from Artemis I.

543
00:26:30,533 --> 00:26:34,133
(sound roaring)

544
00:26:34,133 --> 00:26:36,600
They start by shaking
the capsule,

545
00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,300
blasting it with extreme noise,

546
00:26:39,300 --> 00:26:43,233
equivalent to the sound
of 200 jet engines...

547
00:26:43,233 --> 00:26:45,466
(sound roaring)

548
00:26:45,466 --> 00:26:47,900
...simulating the most extreme
vibrations

549
00:26:47,900 --> 00:26:50,800
that might occur
during a mission.

550
00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,200
(sound roaring)

551
00:26:55,433 --> 00:26:58,600
The focus today
is on the forward bay cover,

552
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,333
the cap on top of the capsule.

553
00:27:02,333 --> 00:27:04,933
It needs to eject on re-entry

554
00:27:04,933 --> 00:27:07,366
so the parachutes
can deploy safely.

555
00:27:07,366 --> 00:27:11,033
This happened on Artemis I.

556
00:27:12,233 --> 00:27:15,033
But now they're testing
the same mechanism

557
00:27:15,033 --> 00:27:18,266
for Artemis II

558
00:27:18,266 --> 00:27:21,800
with a replacement
forward bay cover.

559
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:23,266
ROBERT OVERY:
It takes

560
00:27:23,266 --> 00:27:24,766
less than a second

561
00:27:24,766 --> 00:27:27,133
for the pyros or
explosives

562
00:27:27,133 --> 00:27:28,966
to separate
that cover.

563
00:27:28,966 --> 00:27:31,433
But it takes months
to plan,

564
00:27:31,433 --> 00:27:33,700
months to make sure
that everything is set up.

565
00:27:33,700 --> 00:27:37,066
Like, we're looking here
at a catch system,

566
00:27:37,066 --> 00:27:39,166
so the forward bay cover
will go into that net,

567
00:27:39,166 --> 00:27:42,800
the bungee cords then will keep
a tension so it stays in that,

568
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,733
and then we have very high-speed
photogrammetry cameras

569
00:27:46,733 --> 00:27:49,866
that are set up with
extremely bright lights

570
00:27:49,866 --> 00:27:51,533
that are focused
on the hardware,

571
00:27:51,533 --> 00:27:53,100
so the engineers can analyze it

572
00:27:53,100 --> 00:27:56,733
and see if all the systems
are performing as expected.

573
00:27:58,366 --> 00:28:01,733
NARRATOR:
If any wires or bolts have
come loose from the shaking,

574
00:28:01,733 --> 00:28:04,300
the mechanism won't function
properly...

575
00:28:06,533 --> 00:28:10,000
...potentially delaying
the launch of Artemis II.

576
00:28:12,333 --> 00:28:13,966
Ready to test?

577
00:28:13,966 --> 00:28:16,466
All right, let's go test.

578
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,833
MICHAEL SEE:
Testing does end up requiring

579
00:28:22,833 --> 00:28:24,466
more time to be put

580
00:28:24,466 --> 00:28:25,633
into the design development
process

581
00:28:25,633 --> 00:28:27,433
of, of spacecraft.

582
00:28:28,766 --> 00:28:29,966
But it's necessary.

583
00:28:31,933 --> 00:28:33,433
At both the component level

584
00:28:33,433 --> 00:28:36,066
and all the way up
to the entire system level.

585
00:28:37,133 --> 00:28:40,333
That's how
we fly spacecraft safely.

586
00:28:42,366 --> 00:28:45,500
MAN (on radio):
On my mark, all fire FBC pyros.

587
00:28:47,166 --> 00:28:49,566
Three.

588
00:28:49,566 --> 00:28:51,433
Two.

589
00:28:51,433 --> 00:28:53,300
One.

590
00:28:53,300 --> 00:28:57,300
(explosion echoes)

591
00:28:57,300 --> 00:28:59,633
MAN:
Yes.
Yes!

592
00:28:59,633 --> 00:29:03,900
(all applauding)

593
00:29:03,900 --> 00:29:05,900
MAN (on radio):
Pyros fired.

594
00:29:05,900 --> 00:29:10,533
♪ ♪

595
00:29:10,533 --> 00:29:13,800
NARRATOR:
The forward bay cover
has detached cleanly.

596
00:29:14,833 --> 00:29:17,833
The capsule's design
has passed its test.

597
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:24,200
But all is not well with Orion.

598
00:29:29,266 --> 00:29:31,700
When Artemis I splashed down,

599
00:29:31,700 --> 00:29:34,700
the mission was hailed
as a great success.

600
00:29:35,966 --> 00:29:39,800
But in reality, there
were problems with the capsule.

601
00:29:41,100 --> 00:29:43,500
When it was hauled
onto the recovery ship,

602
00:29:43,500 --> 00:29:46,033
it was quickly examined
by engineers,

603
00:29:46,033 --> 00:29:49,633
their biggest concern
the heat shield.

604
00:29:51,333 --> 00:29:55,400
How was it affected
by the intense heat of re-entry?

605
00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:58,200
(whistling)

606
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:02,633
Its epoxy resin tiles were
meant to melt and vaporize,

607
00:30:02,633 --> 00:30:05,100
taking heat away
from the capsule.

608
00:30:07,433 --> 00:30:09,666
But it didn't work out
like that.

609
00:30:11,833 --> 00:30:15,766
ADERIN:
This report caused quite
a stir when it came out.

610
00:30:15,766 --> 00:30:20,566
It makes some pretty
sort of damning claims, really.

611
00:30:20,566 --> 00:30:23,166
What I'm looking at here
especially is the pictures

612
00:30:23,166 --> 00:30:25,866
of the Orion heat shield.

613
00:30:25,866 --> 00:30:28,100
What you can see is
sort of cavities

614
00:30:28,100 --> 00:30:31,066
and some burn marks
on these areas.

615
00:30:31,066 --> 00:30:32,633
And it is pretty scary,

616
00:30:32,633 --> 00:30:34,633
because this was a technology,

617
00:30:34,633 --> 00:30:35,700
it's going to be used

618
00:30:35,700 --> 00:30:38,733
to get people to the moon,
and yet

619
00:30:38,733 --> 00:30:41,900
there is this degradation.

620
00:30:41,900 --> 00:30:44,333
And the inspector general
actually says,

621
00:30:44,333 --> 00:30:47,800
"In our judgment, the unexpected
behavior of the heat shield

622
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,700
"poses a significant risk
to the safety

623
00:30:50,700 --> 00:30:53,433
of future crewed missions."

624
00:30:53,433 --> 00:30:57,433
And sort of having something
like that written in a report

625
00:30:57,433 --> 00:30:59,333
means a response is needed.

626
00:30:59,333 --> 00:31:01,066
Something has to change.

627
00:31:01,066 --> 00:31:03,733
Because this sort of charring
of the heat shield

628
00:31:03,733 --> 00:31:05,733
could risk human life.

629
00:31:07,500 --> 00:31:08,800
The material's ablative,

630
00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:10,900
so it sort of burns away slowly.

631
00:31:10,900 --> 00:31:11,966
And you expect that.

632
00:31:11,966 --> 00:31:14,600
But you didn't expect
chunks of it

633
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:16,766
to fall away like they did.

634
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:21,866
When you see something
that anomalous

635
00:31:21,866 --> 00:31:23,533
on a critical system
like the heat shield,

636
00:31:23,533 --> 00:31:24,766
where there's no backup,

637
00:31:24,766 --> 00:31:27,866
then that really
raises your concerns.

638
00:31:31,733 --> 00:31:35,733
NELSON:
The technologies that we thought
would be ready are not

639
00:31:35,733 --> 00:31:38,466
because there was some charring

640
00:31:38,466 --> 00:31:41,333
on Artemis I.

641
00:31:41,333 --> 00:31:44,266
That was one
of the unexpected things.

642
00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:50,133
NARRATOR:
The dangers of re-entry
are all too familiar to NASA.

643
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:55,566
BRAD WATSON:
It looks like you can see pieces
of the shuttle coming off.

644
00:31:58,066 --> 00:31:59,300
CHARLES HOBAUGH (on radio):
Columbia, Houston,

645
00:31:59,300 --> 00:32:01,833
UHF comm check.

646
00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:04,700
Columbia, Houston,

647
00:32:04,700 --> 00:32:06,300
UHF comm check.

648
00:32:07,733 --> 00:32:10,366
NARRATOR:
Damage to the thermal
protection system

649
00:32:10,366 --> 00:32:12,366
led to the breakup of Columbia

650
00:32:12,366 --> 00:32:14,400
on its return to Earth.

651
00:32:16,266 --> 00:32:17,900
As with Challenger,

652
00:32:17,900 --> 00:32:20,900
seven astronauts
lost their lives.

653
00:32:22,933 --> 00:32:25,166
LEINFELDER:
The space shuttle
had two major disasters

654
00:32:25,166 --> 00:32:27,733
and 14 astronauts died.

655
00:32:27,733 --> 00:32:31,700
That, that has weighed heavily
on NASA, on America.

656
00:32:31,700 --> 00:32:33,800
And it's definitely
something that has affected

657
00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:36,700
this mission and other
human spaceflight missions.

658
00:32:37,766 --> 00:32:40,500
NARRATOR:
The launch of Artemis II
is postponed

659
00:32:40,500 --> 00:32:44,333
as NASA investigates what
went wrong with the heat shield

660
00:32:44,333 --> 00:32:47,800
and how best
to proceed with the mission.

661
00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:54,266
While engineers search
for a solution

662
00:32:54,266 --> 00:32:55,666
to the heat shield problem,

663
00:32:55,666 --> 00:32:58,766
the astronauts
continue training.

664
00:32:58,766 --> 00:33:02,133
Today,
they're in the Orion simulator,

665
00:33:02,133 --> 00:33:03,800
practicing each maneuver,

666
00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:05,866
engine burn,
and course correction.

667
00:33:06,933 --> 00:33:12,033
Even communicating with mission
control is a training exercise.

668
00:33:12,033 --> 00:33:14,300
Copy, burning.

669
00:33:14,300 --> 00:33:15,466
Copy.

670
00:33:17,700 --> 00:33:19,133
WISEMAN:
There is a lot of training.

671
00:33:19,133 --> 00:33:21,066
If we were to boil it all down,

672
00:33:21,066 --> 00:33:23,533
we could probably get it done
in under a year,

673
00:33:23,533 --> 00:33:25,133
but we are also flying
this vehicle

674
00:33:25,133 --> 00:33:27,233
for the first time, so we do
need to spend

675
00:33:27,233 --> 00:33:30,000
a lot more time than the next
crew will have to spend

676
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,000
on just all of the what ifs.

677
00:33:34,033 --> 00:33:36,266
All right,
we're starting to climb.

678
00:33:36,266 --> 00:33:37,500
KOCH:
I see good numbers.

679
00:33:37,500 --> 00:33:38,666
I concur.

680
00:33:40,366 --> 00:33:42,600
NARRATOR:
During the mission,
they'll be testing

681
00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:44,900
the human systems
that couldn't be tested

682
00:33:44,900 --> 00:33:46,600
on Artemis I:

683
00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:49,533
flight control, navigation,

684
00:33:49,533 --> 00:33:51,366
and life support.

685
00:33:51,366 --> 00:33:53,533
WISEMAN:
We are talking to the engineers,

686
00:33:53,533 --> 00:33:55,666
going through
every single detail with them.

687
00:33:55,666 --> 00:33:57,800
We're road-testing the training,

688
00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:00,600
we're road-testing
the preparation towards launch,

689
00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:02,933
we're road-testing all of that--
that's our job.

690
00:34:02,933 --> 00:34:04,400
There's the moon.

691
00:34:06,466 --> 00:34:08,466
Nice.
MAN:
Boom.

692
00:34:08,466 --> 00:34:10,300
Looks like we're pointed
in the right direction.

693
00:34:11,900 --> 00:34:14,300
PEAKE:
There is no substitute
for preparation.

694
00:34:14,300 --> 00:34:15,433
There's no substitute

695
00:34:15,433 --> 00:34:16,566
for having an intimate knowledge

696
00:34:16,566 --> 00:34:18,000
of what you're doing.

697
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:19,866
And what that allows you to do

698
00:34:19,866 --> 00:34:21,566
is generate options when things
go wrong.

699
00:34:21,566 --> 00:34:23,033
As we say in the military,

700
00:34:23,033 --> 00:34:25,466
"You train hard,
you fight easy."

701
00:34:25,466 --> 00:34:28,300
(speaking softly)

702
00:34:28,300 --> 00:34:31,300
BERGER:
On the Artemis II mission,

703
00:34:31,300 --> 00:34:33,000
the astronauts aren't going
to do much flying.

704
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:34,400
They're going to do
some demonstrations,

705
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:35,600
but that's not essential.

706
00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:37,666
Orion could fly itself
to around the moon.

707
00:34:37,666 --> 00:34:41,533
But in emergencies,
you do want humans flying.

708
00:34:41,533 --> 00:34:43,100
That's what they train for.

709
00:34:43,100 --> 00:34:45,466
MAN (on radio):
Orion, Houston,
looks like a good burn.

710
00:34:45,466 --> 00:34:48,100
WISEMAN:
Okay, excellent news,
Houston.

711
00:34:48,100 --> 00:34:50,600
We saw a good burn and
all good indications up here.

712
00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:52,200
There's more steps
to this

713
00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:53,233
than maybe...
Yeah.

714
00:34:53,233 --> 00:34:54,266
ADERIN:
I often get asked,

715
00:34:54,266 --> 00:34:56,333
why put people in space?

716
00:34:56,333 --> 00:34:58,566
We have robotic missions,
we have A.I.

717
00:34:58,566 --> 00:35:00,266
Why have humans?

718
00:35:00,266 --> 00:35:02,233
(speaking indistinctly)

719
00:35:02,233 --> 00:35:03,533
ADERIN:
To me, they are critical

720
00:35:03,533 --> 00:35:07,233
because they are literally
the eyes and the ears

721
00:35:07,233 --> 00:35:09,100
of the mission.

722
00:35:09,100 --> 00:35:10,400
If something goes wrong,

723
00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:13,500
you just need that human
ingenuity to find solutions.

724
00:35:15,300 --> 00:35:19,166
NARRATOR:
NASA had a stark reminder
of this in June 2024,

725
00:35:19,166 --> 00:35:22,166
when the Boeing Starliner
malfunctioned.

726
00:35:23,566 --> 00:35:26,633
CHESHIER:
And we have our first views
of Starliner

727
00:35:26,633 --> 00:35:28,933
from the International
Space Station.

728
00:35:31,100 --> 00:35:33,433
BERGER:
The Starliner mission,

729
00:35:33,433 --> 00:35:35,033
that was supposed to fly itself,

730
00:35:35,033 --> 00:35:36,300
essentially,
to the space station.

731
00:35:37,266 --> 00:35:39,233
And as it got

732
00:35:39,233 --> 00:35:41,266
sort of to within
a few kilometers,

733
00:35:41,266 --> 00:35:44,066
thrusters started blinking out.

734
00:35:46,533 --> 00:35:48,866
Butch Wilmore, who was
the commander of that mission,

735
00:35:48,866 --> 00:35:50,166
took control.

736
00:35:51,766 --> 00:35:53,433
MAN (on radio):
Estimated contact,

737
00:35:53,433 --> 00:35:55,600
a little bit
more than two minutes.

738
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:59,033
BERGER:
His actions were pretty heroic,

739
00:35:59,033 --> 00:36:03,533
in terms of guiding
that spacecraft

740
00:36:03,533 --> 00:36:05,566
to the space station safely.

741
00:36:07,066 --> 00:36:08,366
(craft thuds softly)

742
00:36:08,366 --> 00:36:09,666
WILMORE (on radio):
Capture.

743
00:36:10,966 --> 00:36:12,533
If a human
had not been on board,

744
00:36:12,533 --> 00:36:14,133
that, that mission
would have been lost.

745
00:36:15,366 --> 00:36:19,566
WILMORE (on radio):
It's nice to be attached
to the big city in the sky.

746
00:36:21,033 --> 00:36:22,966
NARRATOR:
After a two-year investigation

747
00:36:22,966 --> 00:36:25,233
into the safety
of the heat shield,

748
00:36:25,233 --> 00:36:28,600
NASA finally announces
its conclusions.

749
00:36:29,666 --> 00:36:32,600
They blame the damage
on the skip entry maneuver,

750
00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:35,966
which was used on Artemis I

751
00:36:35,966 --> 00:36:38,633
to slow down the capsule
during re-entry.

752
00:36:40,900 --> 00:36:44,600
This is a technique we use
coming back from the moon,

753
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:48,033
because the velocity
is much greater

754
00:36:48,033 --> 00:36:50,700
than coming back
from low-Earth orbit.

755
00:36:50,700 --> 00:36:53,466
♪ ♪

756
00:36:53,466 --> 00:36:56,033
They were trying a different
re-entry procedure,

757
00:36:56,033 --> 00:36:57,500
a, a skip entry.

758
00:36:58,500 --> 00:36:59,666
So that's where the spacecraft

759
00:36:59,666 --> 00:37:03,333
dips into the Earth's
atmosphere once,

760
00:37:03,333 --> 00:37:06,800
then it creates
a, a small amount of lift,

761
00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:09,533
it exits the Earth's atmosphere,

762
00:37:09,533 --> 00:37:13,066
and then it comes back in
a second time for the re-entry.

763
00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:18,066
And by doing that skip maneuver,

764
00:37:18,066 --> 00:37:19,633
it meant that layers of gas

765
00:37:19,633 --> 00:37:21,666
were trapped
inside the heat shield.

766
00:37:21,666 --> 00:37:24,233
So when it came into Earth's
atmosphere for the second time,

767
00:37:24,233 --> 00:37:27,866
those gases had to escape,
and that caused cracking

768
00:37:27,866 --> 00:37:29,733
and chunks of the heat shield
to come off.

769
00:37:29,733 --> 00:37:34,600
♪ ♪

770
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,633
NARRATOR:
NASA decides to keep
the existing heat shield design

771
00:37:37,633 --> 00:37:39,200
for Artemis II,

772
00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:42,600
but to ditch
the "double dip" skip entry.

773
00:37:46,033 --> 00:37:49,633
Instead, Artemis II
will make what engineers call

774
00:37:49,633 --> 00:37:53,900
a ballistic entry,
with a single, steeper profile,

775
00:37:53,900 --> 00:37:58,266
as if the capsule has been
fired like a bullet from a gun.

776
00:37:59,966 --> 00:38:01,500
But will it work?

777
00:38:03,333 --> 00:38:05,100
We don't know.

778
00:38:05,100 --> 00:38:07,666
I mean, the engineering,
the models,

779
00:38:07,666 --> 00:38:10,133
all the modeling
suggests it will work.

780
00:38:10,133 --> 00:38:12,800
But all of that data suggested

781
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,000
that with the skip re-entry
on Artemis I,

782
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,833
there wouldn't be heat shield
loss, so...

783
00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,400
This is a compromise.

784
00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:23,033
They're keeping
the existing heat shield,

785
00:38:23,033 --> 00:38:25,666
because to design a new one
would take an awful long time.

786
00:38:25,666 --> 00:38:29,000
But with all space missions,
there is a risk.

787
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,633
They've mitigated the risk
as much as possible,

788
00:38:31,633 --> 00:38:34,433
but there is still always
that risk that there could be

789
00:38:34,433 --> 00:38:38,366
a catastrophic failure
and loss of life.

790
00:38:38,366 --> 00:38:41,833
I do think, ultimately,
if Artemis is going

791
00:38:41,833 --> 00:38:44,533
to be carried out on any
kind of a, you know,

792
00:38:44,533 --> 00:38:45,933
reasonable timeline,

793
00:38:45,933 --> 00:38:48,466
there will have
to be some risks taken.

794
00:38:49,766 --> 00:38:52,900
I think we're seeing that
with the Orion heat shield

795
00:38:52,900 --> 00:38:55,200
being flown as is on Artemis II.

796
00:38:57,066 --> 00:38:58,966
WISEMAN:
We'll be nervous coming in.

797
00:38:58,966 --> 00:39:01,300
You can't be not nervous.

798
00:39:01,300 --> 00:39:03,166
But you trust the architecture,

799
00:39:03,166 --> 00:39:06,500
you trust the, the engineering,
and it's going to work out.

800
00:39:07,633 --> 00:39:12,166
♪ ♪

801
00:39:22,833 --> 00:39:27,066
JARED ISAACMAN:
Now, this is the start
of a very long journey.

802
00:39:27,066 --> 00:39:30,566
We ended our last human
exploration of the moon

803
00:39:30,566 --> 00:39:32,733
in Apollo 17, the 17th mission.

804
00:39:32,733 --> 00:39:36,000
And I hope someday my kids
are going to be watching--

805
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:37,566
maybe decades into the future--

806
00:39:37,566 --> 00:39:40,333
the Artemis 100 mission.

807
00:39:40,333 --> 00:39:43,333
We should be able
to undertake repeatable,

808
00:39:43,333 --> 00:39:45,566
affordable missions
to and from the moon.

809
00:39:46,633 --> 00:39:50,866
NARRATOR:
The SLS rocket rolls slowly out
to the launchpad.

810
00:39:50,866 --> 00:39:55,366
Top speed, 0.8 miles per hour.

811
00:39:56,333 --> 00:39:59,100
KRISTIN FISHER:
You four are about to fly
farther into space

812
00:39:59,100 --> 00:40:01,000
than any humans have ever flown.

813
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:03,366
But how are you training
your families

814
00:40:03,366 --> 00:40:07,533
as you get ready to leave them
behind on Earth?

815
00:40:07,533 --> 00:40:10,166
WISEMAN:
I try to train them
honestly and openly.

816
00:40:10,166 --> 00:40:11,766
With my kids, I told them,

817
00:40:11,766 --> 00:40:13,200
"Here's where the will is;

818
00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:14,200
"here's where the trust
documents are;

819
00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:15,333
"and if anything happens to me,

820
00:40:15,333 --> 00:40:16,400
here's what's going
to happen to you."

821
00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:17,666
It's our families

822
00:40:17,666 --> 00:40:19,166
that we think about the most
on launch day.

823
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:22,800
NARRATOR:
After 12 hours,

824
00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:25,500
the rocket arrives
at its destination:

825
00:40:25,500 --> 00:40:28,333
launchpad 39B.

826
00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:34,200
♪ ♪

827
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:37,933
But in February,
it has to roll back again,

828
00:40:37,933 --> 00:40:40,200
into the vehicle assembly
building.

829
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:41,800
♪ ♪

830
00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:44,500
Engineers have discovered
two problems:

831
00:40:44,500 --> 00:40:46,466
a hydrogen leak

832
00:40:46,466 --> 00:40:48,433
and a helium flow issue.

833
00:40:48,433 --> 00:40:50,566
♪ ♪

834
00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:56,466
By March,
the rocket has been repaired,

835
00:40:56,466 --> 00:40:58,766
and it rolls out again.

836
00:41:00,500 --> 00:41:02,833
NASA sets a new launch date:

837
00:41:02,833 --> 00:41:06,400
April 1, 2026.

838
00:41:10,666 --> 00:41:12,100
WISEMAN:
About nine hours
prior to liftoff,

839
00:41:12,100 --> 00:41:13,466
we'll wake up.

840
00:41:13,466 --> 00:41:14,600
They're gonna take
our temperature,

841
00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:16,400
our weight,
our blood pressure.

842
00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:17,666
Once that's complete,

843
00:41:17,666 --> 00:41:19,133
it's time to go start
getting dressed.

844
00:41:19,133 --> 00:41:20,533
And we'll go
into the suit room.

845
00:41:23,033 --> 00:41:24,466
They'll leak-check us,

846
00:41:24,466 --> 00:41:27,633
make sure our suit
holds pressure.

847
00:41:27,633 --> 00:41:29,366
And then, when that's complete,

848
00:41:29,366 --> 00:41:32,000
we wait until
it's time to walk out.

849
00:41:35,533 --> 00:41:39,966
♪ ♪

850
00:41:41,566 --> 00:41:43,633
From the moment
that you walk out

851
00:41:43,633 --> 00:41:44,933
to go out to the launchpad,

852
00:41:44,933 --> 00:41:47,500
you're on this extremely
choreographed timeline.

853
00:41:51,766 --> 00:41:54,600
MEGAN CRUZ:
We are now under an hour from

854
00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:56,866
the opening of our
two-hour launch window

855
00:41:56,866 --> 00:41:59,700
at 6:24 p.m. Eastern time.

856
00:41:59,700 --> 00:42:01,300
Yes, this has
been a beautiful day...

857
00:42:01,300 --> 00:42:02,633
Rocket science has hundreds

858
00:42:02,633 --> 00:42:04,133
or thousands of things

859
00:42:04,133 --> 00:42:05,366
that all have to go just right.

860
00:42:05,366 --> 00:42:06,566
It all has to be perfect.

861
00:42:06,566 --> 00:42:09,800
The rocket has to launch
within this window.

862
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:11,133
If it doesn't launch
in this window,

863
00:42:11,133 --> 00:42:13,000
it can't go today.

864
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:14,700
♪ ♪

865
00:42:14,700 --> 00:42:17,300
(man speaking faintly)

866
00:42:17,300 --> 00:42:18,433
BERGER:
You get to T-minus ten minutes,

867
00:42:18,433 --> 00:42:19,800
ten minutes
to go in the countdown,

868
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:22,566
they'll pause it there
for about 30 minutes.

869
00:42:22,566 --> 00:42:24,500
They'll go through
and ask basically everyone

870
00:42:24,500 --> 00:42:27,733
if their part of the rocket
or the spacecraft is good to go.

871
00:42:27,733 --> 00:42:29,066
SPAULDING (on radio):
MCO.

872
00:42:29,066 --> 00:42:30,700
MAN (on radio):
T.O. is go.

873
00:42:30,700 --> 00:42:31,966
SPAULDING:
Houston flight.

874
00:42:31,966 --> 00:42:33,966
MAN:
Houston flight is go.

875
00:42:33,966 --> 00:42:35,366
BERGER:
If there's a reading
out of bounds

876
00:42:35,366 --> 00:42:37,066
during that time,

877
00:42:37,066 --> 00:42:38,300
then the countdown
will be stopped

878
00:42:38,300 --> 00:42:39,566
and the launch will be scrubbed
for the day.

879
00:42:40,533 --> 00:42:43,600
WISEMAN (on radio):
Artemis II crew
is go for launch.

880
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:45,433
BLACKWELL-THOMPSON (on radio):
I copy that.

881
00:42:45,433 --> 00:42:47,400
Good luck.

882
00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:48,966
Godspeed,
Artemis II.

883
00:42:48,966 --> 00:42:50,633
Let's go.

884
00:42:50,633 --> 00:42:52,700
(crowd cheering)

885
00:42:52,700 --> 00:42:54,333
NAIL:
Ten, nine,

886
00:42:54,333 --> 00:42:56,500
eight, seven.

887
00:42:56,500 --> 00:42:58,866
RS-25 engines lit.

888
00:42:58,866 --> 00:43:00,266
Four,

889
00:43:00,266 --> 00:43:02,800
three, two, one.

890
00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:04,900
Booster ignition

891
00:43:04,900 --> 00:43:06,800
and liftoff!

892
00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:07,900
Go!

893
00:43:07,900 --> 00:43:10,166
(crowd cheering)

894
00:43:10,166 --> 00:43:12,833
♪ ♪

895
00:43:12,833 --> 00:43:15,000
NAIL:
The crew of Artemis II

896
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:16,500
now bound for the moon.

897
00:43:16,500 --> 00:43:18,166
(cheering and whooping)

898
00:43:18,166 --> 00:43:20,366
Humanity's
next great voyage begins.

899
00:43:22,266 --> 00:43:23,933
WISEMAN (on radio):
Good roll pitch.

900
00:43:23,933 --> 00:43:25,466
MAN (on radio):
Roger, roll pitch.

901
00:43:26,733 --> 00:43:31,766
♪ ♪

902
00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:35,700
GARY JORDAN:
Mission Control Houston

903
00:43:35,700 --> 00:43:37,266
seeing good performance
in four main engines.

904
00:43:37,266 --> 00:43:39,933
Three miles in altitude,

905
00:43:39,933 --> 00:43:42,766
traveling more than
1,200 miles per hour.

906
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:48,900
NARRATOR:
The rocket powers its way
into orbit

907
00:43:48,900 --> 00:43:52,933
as designed by the engineers
at Marshall Space Flight Center.

908
00:43:56,833 --> 00:43:59,033
JORDAN:
Confirm separation.

909
00:43:59,033 --> 00:44:00,133
(bursts)

910
00:44:01,500 --> 00:44:03,933
Now passing
5,000 miles per hour.

911
00:44:03,933 --> 00:44:06,033
♪ ♪

912
00:44:06,033 --> 00:44:07,333
WISEMAN:
Houston, Integrity.

913
00:44:07,333 --> 00:44:08,966
Good LAS jettison,
great view.

914
00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:12,233
MAN (on radio):
Integrity, nominal MECO,

915
00:44:12,233 --> 00:44:14,166
core stage separated.

916
00:44:15,900 --> 00:44:17,433
NARRATOR:
For this voyage,

917
00:44:17,433 --> 00:44:20,933
the crew has renamed their ship
Integrity.

918
00:44:22,700 --> 00:44:25,500
It's now traveling
beyond low-Earth orbit...

919
00:44:25,500 --> 00:44:26,866
(people talking in background)

920
00:44:26,866 --> 00:44:28,566
...heading for the moon.

921
00:44:28,566 --> 00:44:30,366
♪ ♪

922
00:44:30,366 --> 00:44:32,833
HANSEN (on radio):
We know that there was some talk

923
00:44:32,833 --> 00:44:36,666
about some burnt smell
when they-- from the heaters,

924
00:44:36,666 --> 00:44:38,900
so we just thought
we'd check in with you.

925
00:44:40,266 --> 00:44:43,433
NARRATOR:
The astronauts test
the life support systems,

926
00:44:43,433 --> 00:44:46,866
exercise for 30 minutes daily...

927
00:44:46,866 --> 00:44:50,866
WOMAN:
Christina Koch
taking the camera...

928
00:44:50,866 --> 00:44:53,166
NARRATOR:
...and even deal
with a toilet issue...

929
00:44:53,166 --> 00:44:55,233
WOMAN:
...to show us
a wastewater dump.

930
00:44:55,233 --> 00:44:57,200
NARRATOR:
...as they adjust to life

931
00:44:57,200 --> 00:44:59,033
in deep space.

932
00:44:59,033 --> 00:45:03,433
PEAKE:
Your body is being bombarded
by galactic cosmic rays,

933
00:45:03,433 --> 00:45:05,533
and actually, we see that
as astronauts,

934
00:45:05,533 --> 00:45:06,766
when we're falling asleep.

935
00:45:06,766 --> 00:45:07,833
You close your eyes,

936
00:45:07,833 --> 00:45:10,100
and before
you actually drop off,

937
00:45:10,100 --> 00:45:11,800
you'll see several flashes,

938
00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:14,200
like bright streaks of light

939
00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:15,200
going across your eye,

940
00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:17,033
and you know that that's

941
00:45:17,033 --> 00:45:18,200
a high-energy particle

942
00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:19,500
striking
the back of your retina.

943
00:45:19,500 --> 00:45:21,700
It's quite pretty to look at,

944
00:45:21,700 --> 00:45:23,533
but it's, it's not
when you realize

945
00:45:23,533 --> 00:45:25,766
the damage that that
could be doing to your body.

946
00:45:25,766 --> 00:45:28,066
And that could cause
some form of cancer.

947
00:45:35,433 --> 00:45:37,800
GLOVER (on radio):
Good morning, Houston,

948
00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:39,200
from inside Integrity.

949
00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:40,733
NARRATOR:
On day six,

950
00:45:40,733 --> 00:45:42,733
Integrity reaches
the moon.

951
00:45:42,733 --> 00:45:46,366
GLOVER:
...in 12,712 miles...

952
00:45:46,366 --> 00:45:48,800
NARRATOR:
The crew will do
a seven-hour flyby,

953
00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:53,233
capturing high-quality images
of the moon's surface,

954
00:45:53,233 --> 00:45:54,933
going farther from Earth

955
00:45:54,933 --> 00:45:57,533
than any crew has gone before.

956
00:45:58,700 --> 00:46:01,500
But first, they want
to name a crater

957
00:46:01,500 --> 00:46:05,900
located at the western edge
of the moon's near side.

958
00:46:05,900 --> 00:46:08,766
HANSEN (on radio):
A number of years ago,
we started this journey

959
00:46:08,766 --> 00:46:11,066
in our close-knit
astronaut family,

960
00:46:11,066 --> 00:46:13,233
and we lost a loved one.

961
00:46:14,200 --> 00:46:16,066
Her name was Carroll,

962
00:46:16,066 --> 00:46:17,600
the spouse of Reid,

963
00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:20,300
the mother of Katey and Ellie.

964
00:46:21,300 --> 00:46:24,800
(voice trembling):
And we would like to call it
Carroll,

965
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:29,966
and you spell that
C-A-R-R-O-L-L.

966
00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:37,833
♪ ♪

967
00:46:41,633 --> 00:46:45,033
NARRATOR:
On the ground, the science team
is receiving live reports

968
00:46:45,033 --> 00:46:48,100
as the astronauts fly
by the moon,

969
00:46:48,100 --> 00:46:51,466
observing different
geological features.

970
00:46:51,466 --> 00:46:53,566
GLOVER (on radio):
I think Copernicus

971
00:46:53,566 --> 00:46:56,166
is the easternmost feature
that we can see.

972
00:46:56,166 --> 00:47:00,233
A very nice ring to the north,
and the south

973
00:47:00,233 --> 00:47:02,933
is with a lot of
terrain shadow features.

974
00:47:02,933 --> 00:47:05,000
(radio beeps)

975
00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:07,400
WOMAN (on radio):
We are getting a sneak preview

976
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:10,133
from one of our SAW cameras
at what you're looking at

977
00:47:10,133 --> 00:47:11,833
and we see some of
what you're describing.

978
00:47:13,066 --> 00:47:14,533
We love it.

979
00:47:16,700 --> 00:47:18,066
LEINFELDER:
The Artemis II crew

980
00:47:18,066 --> 00:47:20,533
has been trained
to observe the moon,

981
00:47:20,533 --> 00:47:22,466
to find significant features.

982
00:47:23,533 --> 00:47:26,233
As a spacecraft
goes around the moon,

983
00:47:26,233 --> 00:47:28,866
an astronaut can look at
a spot from different angles.

984
00:47:28,866 --> 00:47:31,300
It might take a spacecraft years
to have that trajectory

985
00:47:31,300 --> 00:47:32,766
where they can
see all those angles.

986
00:47:34,366 --> 00:47:37,033
KOCH (on radio):
Something I've never seen
in photographs before

987
00:47:37,033 --> 00:47:38,033
but is very apparent,

988
00:47:38,033 --> 00:47:39,800
all the new craters.

989
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:41,800
Some of them are super-tiny.

990
00:47:41,800 --> 00:47:44,666
There's a couple that
really stand out, obviously,

991
00:47:44,666 --> 00:47:46,400
and they are so bright

992
00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:48,566
compared to
the rest of the moon.

993
00:47:51,066 --> 00:47:52,633
NARRATOR:
The flyby ends

994
00:47:52,633 --> 00:47:54,133
with a final flourish...

995
00:47:54,133 --> 00:47:57,033
♪ ♪

996
00:47:57,033 --> 00:48:00,433
(people exclaim and gasp)

997
00:48:00,433 --> 00:48:03,033
NARRATOR:
...a total solar eclipse

998
00:48:03,033 --> 00:48:05,766
seen from space.

999
00:48:05,766 --> 00:48:09,266
GLOVER (on radio):
The sun has gone behind the moon

1000
00:48:09,266 --> 00:48:12,000
and the corona is still visible.

1001
00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:15,366
And it creates a halo
almost around the entire moon.

1002
00:48:15,366 --> 00:48:17,066
But when
you get to the Earth side,

1003
00:48:17,066 --> 00:48:18,333
the Earthshine is already shown,

1004
00:48:18,333 --> 00:48:20,333
and the moon is just
hanging in front of us,

1005
00:48:20,333 --> 00:48:23,966
this black orb

1006
00:48:23,966 --> 00:48:25,900
out in front of us.

1007
00:48:25,900 --> 00:48:27,966
Wow, it's amazing.

1008
00:48:27,966 --> 00:48:29,266
(radio beeps)

1009
00:48:29,266 --> 00:48:31,800
WISEMAN:
No matter how long
we look at this,

1010
00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:36,133
our brains are not processing
this image in front of us.

1011
00:48:36,133 --> 00:48:38,100
There's no adjectives.

1012
00:48:38,100 --> 00:48:40,200
I'm gonna need to invent
some new ones to describe

1013
00:48:40,200 --> 00:48:42,666
what we are looking at
out this window.

1014
00:48:46,100 --> 00:48:48,100
(ground crew exclaiming)

1015
00:48:48,100 --> 00:48:49,500
MAN:
This is so cool.

1016
00:48:49,500 --> 00:48:51,233
NARRATOR:
But as the sun comes out,

1017
00:48:51,233 --> 00:48:54,333
it's time for the Artemis crew
to head home.

1018
00:48:56,633 --> 00:48:57,666
(bursts)

1019
00:48:58,866 --> 00:49:00,900
(hissing)

1020
00:49:00,900 --> 00:49:02,133
On day ten,

1021
00:49:02,133 --> 00:49:06,700
Integrity separates
from the service module

1022
00:49:06,700 --> 00:49:08,466
and falls to Earth.

1023
00:49:08,466 --> 00:49:10,533
♪ ♪

1024
00:49:10,533 --> 00:49:12,366
BERGER:
Re-entry, I think,

1025
00:49:12,366 --> 00:49:14,433
is probably the most critical
part of the mission.

1026
00:49:14,433 --> 00:49:16,100
NAVIAS:
You can see the reflection

1027
00:49:16,100 --> 00:49:19,300
of one of the crew members
in the window.

1028
00:49:19,300 --> 00:49:20,800
BERGER:
You're testing
the Orion heat shield,

1029
00:49:20,800 --> 00:49:23,366
which had some failure
during Artemis I.

1030
00:49:24,366 --> 00:49:26,666
In terms of pucker factor
for me,

1031
00:49:26,666 --> 00:49:28,233
that re-entry will be
the highest part.

1032
00:49:28,233 --> 00:49:31,200
♪ ♪

1033
00:49:31,200 --> 00:49:33,100
ADERIN:
There's no getting around it--

1034
00:49:33,100 --> 00:49:35,333
it is a time of trepidation,

1035
00:49:35,333 --> 00:49:37,066
and it is one of those moments

1036
00:49:37,066 --> 00:49:39,933
where you,
you wish them Godspeed.

1037
00:49:39,933 --> 00:49:41,300
♪ ♪

1038
00:49:41,300 --> 00:49:43,233
NAVIAS:
And we have crossed
the threshold,

1039
00:49:43,233 --> 00:49:45,433
now entering
the Earth's atmosphere.

1040
00:49:48,500 --> 00:49:50,700
This will be a six-minute
blackout period.

1041
00:49:50,700 --> 00:49:53,166
No voice, no data from the crew.

1042
00:49:54,166 --> 00:49:58,133
NARRATOR:
Integrity's traveling
25,000 miles per hour--

1043
00:49:58,133 --> 00:50:01,566
faster than Artemis I,

1044
00:50:01,566 --> 00:50:03,600
whose heat shield
was badly damaged.

1045
00:50:05,566 --> 00:50:06,900
NAVIAS:
So, that pinpoint of light

1046
00:50:06,900 --> 00:50:09,100
shows the vehicle.

1047
00:50:09,100 --> 00:50:14,000
The first tug of gravity being
felt by Integrity's astronauts.

1048
00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:16,000
NARRATOR:
The minutes tick by.

1049
00:50:17,400 --> 00:50:19,466
(static crackling)

1050
00:50:19,466 --> 00:50:21,933
NAVIAS:
We're getting intermittent
views.

1051
00:50:21,933 --> 00:50:25,133
Still waiting to establish
voice communication.

1052
00:50:27,800 --> 00:50:29,400
WOMAN (on radio):
Integrity, Houston.

1053
00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:33,000
Comm check post-blackout.

1054
00:50:35,966 --> 00:50:38,333
WISEMAN (on radio):
Houston, Integrity,
we have you loud and clear.

1055
00:50:38,333 --> 00:50:40,266
(all cheer and applaud)

1056
00:50:40,266 --> 00:50:42,966
NAVIAS:
Big cheers from the viewing room
here in mission control

1057
00:50:42,966 --> 00:50:45,033
as voice communication
reestablished

1058
00:50:45,033 --> 00:50:46,900
with commander Reid Wiseman.

1059
00:50:46,900 --> 00:50:48,700
♪ ♪

1060
00:50:48,700 --> 00:50:51,133
WOMAN (on radio): We see
three good-looking parachutes.

1061
00:50:51,133 --> 00:50:52,900
WISEMAN (on radio):
Integrity copies.

1062
00:50:57,400 --> 00:50:59,800
NARRATOR:
NASA's gamble has paid off.

1063
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:03,500
The heat shield
has done its job.

1064
00:51:03,500 --> 00:51:05,033
WISEMAN (on radio):
Houston, Integrity--
splashdown...

1065
00:51:05,033 --> 00:51:06,066
NARRATOR:
Mission accomplished.

1066
00:51:06,066 --> 00:51:07,066
WISEMAN:
...post-landing command now.

1067
00:51:07,066 --> 00:51:09,366
(cheering and applauding)

1068
00:51:09,366 --> 00:51:11,700
NAVIAS:
Splashdown confirmed.

1069
00:51:11,700 --> 00:51:14,700
(cheering)

1070
00:51:14,700 --> 00:51:16,933
 
♪ ♪

1071
00:51:16,933 --> 00:51:19,433
NAVIAS: The first crew member
is out of Integrity.

1072
00:51:22,000 --> 00:51:23,500
BERGER:
My hope is that

1073
00:51:23,500 --> 00:51:24,866
this is just the beginning of,

1074
00:51:24,866 --> 00:51:26,766
of not Artemis III, IV, V,

1075
00:51:26,766 --> 00:51:29,133
but Artemis 30, 50,
and then you have

1076
00:51:29,133 --> 00:51:31,733
a growing community
on the moon,

1077
00:51:31,733 --> 00:51:35,366
potentially on Mars--
throughout the solar system.

1078
00:51:36,566 --> 00:51:39,500
The really hard work for Artemis
is still ahead of us.

1079
00:51:39,500 --> 00:51:41,400
♪ ♪

1080
00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:58,033
♪ ♪

1081
00:52:02,666 --> 00:52:04,833
♪ ♪

1082
00:52:09,500 --> 00:52:13,100
♪ ♪

1083
00:52:29,566 --> 00:52:31,900
♪ ♪

1084
00:52:50,133 --> 00:52:52,466
♪ ♪