Watch NASA's Artemis II Splashdown Back to Earth

0:00 19th, 1972.

0:02 2:25 p.m.

0:03 Eastern Standard Time.

0:05 The command module America splashes down

0:07 in the Pacific with Gene Cernan, Ron Evans,

0:10 and Jack Schmitt aboard as the Apollo 17 mission came

0:13 to an end along with humanity's first series of expeditions to the moon.

0:19 Today at this hour, you are looking live

0:22 at our planet from the Integrity spacecraft heading for a splashdown

0:26 in the Pacific off the coast of San Diego just 1 hour and 35 minutes from now.

0:31 And good day from the Artemis flight control room here at the Johnson

0:34 Space Center in Houston where the entry flight control team is on duty

0:39 at this hour led by flight director Rick Henfling joined on console

0:43 with the voice you'll hear talking to the crew throughout the course of the day.

0:47 That is Jackie Mahaffey second from your left.

0:50 Everything has gone extremely well as we are closing in on the return

0:54 of Artemis's astronauts from their flight around the moon and historic

1:00 lunar flyby that will culminate with that splashdown in the Pacific off

1:03 the coast of San Diego just 1 hour and 35 minutes from now.

1:09 And with that, that's a good entry pad and we can continue in the procedure.

1:17 Integrity.

1:22 You're looking at a live view inside Integrity.

1:24 Reed Wiseman on the left doing a fist

1:27 bump with pilot Victor Glover on the right.

1:29 And down in the mid-deck area just below their feed,

1:32 suited up in their launch and entry suits,

1:34 are mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy

1:38 Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

1:41 A number of milestones yet to unfold before splashdown

1:44 just over an hour and a half from now.

1:46 Earlier today, the crew woke up at about 10:35 a.m.

1:50 Central Time.

1:51 They completed the final major maneuver of the flight,

1:55 that being the return trajectory correction three burn.

1:59 It was an 8 second burn that fine-tuned its trajectory to enter

2:03 a corridor over the Pacific Ocean a short time from now.

2:06 That will be the point of entry interface where the crew will

2:09 reach the first traces of Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of 400,000 ft.

2:15 The crew moved into its entry checklist just after 4:00 p.m.

2:18 Central Time, suited up in those launch and entry suits, conducted leak checks,

2:23 and now are in the final stages of their entry checklist.

2:26 and 115, I've entry checklist.

2:28 SM separation ATP is go.

2:33 Houston copies.

2:36 The uh next major milestone on the route home fully

2:40 up and they're working on EBS and then seating up.

2:46 We copy, thanks for the status.

2:49 Jackie Mahaffey talking to Reed Wiseman aboard Integrity.

2:53 The uh spacecraft now about 12,000 nautical miles from the Earth's surface.

2:58 The next major milestone on tap uh for the crew will be uh the crew uh

3:04 the uh handover of communications from the deep space

3:07 network to the tracking and data relay satellite system.

3:11 The deep space network came into play after the translunar injection

3:14 burn back on April 2nd that propelled Integrity toward its lunar flyby.

3:19 We'll be back on the TDRS network here in about 41 minutes.

3:25 Following that, uh the next uh activity will be the pyrotechnic

3:28 separation of the crew module from the European service module.

3:32 That is scheduled at 6:33 p.m.

3:36 Central Time, followed 4 minutes later by one final critical maneuver.

3:41 That will be a 19-second burn of Integrity's thrusters

3:45 in what is called the crew module raise burn.

3:47 Now, what that does is it basically acts,

3:50 if you were sitting in a reclining chair, you'd uh basically tilt yourself back.

3:54 if It raises the aft end of integrity ever so slightly,

3:58 and that is the final opportunity for us to fine-tune

4:01 the angle of attack of integrity through the area

4:04 of peak heating at entry interface that will come a bit

4:08 later on, about an hour and 18 minutes from now.

4:11 So, after the raise burn, we will be in the final orientation that will

4:15 minimize any peak heating on the heat shield

4:18 of integrity and prior to the time the crew

4:20 enters the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of 400,000 ft.

4:26 Entry interface.

4:27 This is the critical time where the crew will reach the first traces

4:31 of Earth's atmosphere at an altitude

4:33 of 400,000 ft traveling 34,882 ft per second.

4:40 Just 24 seconds after entering the Earth's atmosphere,

4:43 we will experience a communications blackout

4:46 expected to last 6 minutes in duration.

4:48 This is planned, and it is caused by the interaction

4:51 of the velocity of integrity with the friction of Earth's atmosphere.

4:56 There will be a buildup of plasma around the vehicle,

4:59 and that ionization will prevent any communications with the crew

5:03 and any receipt of data by flight controllers here in mission control.

5:08 That blackout is scheduled to begin at 6:53 and 54 seconds p.m.

5:13 Central Time.

5:14 Again, a 6-minute blackout that will end,

5:17 if all goes as planned, at 6:59 and 55 seconds p.m.

5:22 Central Time.

5:23 At that point, we expect to regain communications with the crew

5:27 and a reacquisition of data through

5:30 the uh tracking and data relay satellite system.

5:35 We will have a series of roll maneuvers.

5:37 These are computer-commanded that will roll the vehicle slightly to the left,

5:41 then back to the right.

5:42 That will bleed off excess energy as we uh begin our peak uh

5:46 period of a We expect to reach a maximum velocity of 24,661.21 mph,

5:55 equivalent to about Mach 33, 33 times the speed of sound,

6:00 shortly after we enter that blackout period.

6:03 Once we exit the blackout period, of course,

6:05 we're in the denser regions of the Earth's atmosphere,

6:09 and uh then we get set up for the parachute deployment sequence.

6:13 First, uh the deployment of three forward bay cover chutes that will pull

6:17 essentially the top forward bay cover off the very top of the integrity vehicle.

6:22 That will be followed by the deployment of drogue chutes,

6:24 and then the final deployment of a series

6:27 of three main parachutes at 7:04 and 44 seconds p.m.

6:32 Central Time.

6:33 From that point on, it is about uh 3 minutes or so until splashdown.

6:38 Splashdown scheduled at 7:07 and 8 seconds p.m.

6:42 Central Time at a gentle speed of 19 mph.

6:48 So, just to give you some perspective,

6:49 at the time that uh we uh enter the Earth's atmosphere,

6:53 we're traveling uh somewhere around Mach 32.

6:57 We will splashdown at a uh speed of about 19 mph.

7:02 The uh G-forces that will build on the crew

7:05 members inside Integrity will build to about 3.9 Gs.

7:10 Uh that is uh what is expected and what uh they

7:13 have trained for and what the spacecraft it is designed to support.

7:39 The uh latest weather forecast out out in the recovery

7:42 zone uh off the coast of San Diego is a go forecast from our meteorologist here

7:47 at the space flight meteorology group at the Johnson Space Center.

7:51 And standing by on the deck of the USS John

7:54 Murtha is my colleague from the Kennedy Space Center, Megan Cruz.

7:58 Megan?

8:06 Hey there, Rob.

8:06 Yeah, welcome to the bow of the USS John Murtha.

8:09 This is where we will report out live updates from the ship as NASA and the US

8:14 military work to recover our Artemis 2 astronauts

8:17 in just about an hour and a half.

8:19 How exciting.

8:19 Now, right now as you can see, we are out in the Pacific Ocean.

8:22 We are just west of San Diego.

8:24 We're actually staged about 6 and 1/2 miles

8:27 away from where we expect Orion to splashdown.

8:30 And then we will incrementally move closer.

8:32 So, at the time of splashdown, we'll be about 5 miles away,

8:35 and then we will move to 3.2 miles away.

8:38 At that point, we'll pause,

8:40 make sure that all the debris that might be coming down

8:43 with Orion because basically some parts of like the parachute system,

8:47 they're jettisoned off Orion during descent.

8:50 So, we'll just want to make sure that those all land

8:52 in the water and that we are safe to move even closer.

8:55 So, we will make sure that we can move a little closer

9:00 and at that point we will move to a mile away from Orion.

9:03 And at that point, the ship will circle

9:05 the capsule while NASA and Navy recovery forces

9:09 work to get our astronauts out and we

9:10 should have great views of the bow from here,

9:13 but also we have a ton of cameras all around the ship.

9:17 For example, we actually have some cameras right

9:19 to the left of me here on the bow.

9:20 These are very strong, stabilized cameras.

9:23 We can really get up close to make sure that we

9:26 are sharing all the images we have available to you.

9:30 We also will have some views from above.

9:31 We actually have five planes providing live views of splashdown today.

9:35 In fact, some of those aerial assets just took off from San Diego minutes ago.

9:41 And then actually here on the flight deck, you see four helicopters.

9:44 The two in the back,

9:45 those will take off in about 30 minutes from now also with live cameras.

9:49 So again, lots and lots of imagery that we hope to share with you today.

9:53 And then those two helos in the front,

9:54 those two will pluck the crew out of the water and fly them back to our ship.

9:59 Now, the combined team here on the ship,

10:01 more than 550 people, left San Diego 4 days ago.

10:04 And since then, I've watched different teams train every day, train,

10:08 rehearse, final preps to make sure that they're ready for today.

10:12 So to give us more of an update about how recovery is going on right now,

10:16 why don't we turn over to Paul here?

10:17 Paul Serpinske, he is the assistant Artemis recovery director.

10:21 Great to have you here, Paul.

10:22 Great to be here.

10:22 Thanks.

10:23 Absolutely.

10:23 So you just left the landing forces operation center here on the ship.

10:28 How are we looking for recovery?

10:29 Right now, it's looking great.

10:31 When I left, they were just about to get

10:32 into weather briefing with mission control center in Houston,

10:36 but listening to the loops this morning and everything

10:38 that's been going on, the re-entry trajectory correction burn,

10:42 sorry, the return trajectory correction burn went great.

10:45 They were right down the money, right on the money,

10:47 right down the middle where they should be coming back.

10:49 Our forces here, our teams out in the water,

10:54 all our boats are launched or will be imminently.

10:59 So yeah, it's just coming along great.

11:00 Yeah.

11:01 Yeah.

11:01 It's really nice to see.

11:02 We did see some of those boats float behind us.

11:03 We were hoping to give you a live view,

11:05 but of course they floated right out of the camera shot as you came to us.

11:08 But so basically the team right now here on the ship,

11:12 basically like monitoring mode,

11:13 but really things will pick up about 15 minutes after splashdown.

11:17 Yeah, so a couple minutes before splashdown,

11:19 things start happening really, really fast.

11:21 Some events during the re-entry, I mean, they're maybe a second or two apart.

11:25 And so it it just takes a whole lot of effort and a lot of updates back

11:29 and forth between us and Houston to keep

11:31 track of everything that's happening all in real time.

11:34 Uh and then after splashdown,

11:36 that's when the recovery team really kicks into high gear.

11:39 Um we have our our boat teams our boat crews going out,

11:43 our divers uh doing hazardous assessments

11:46 as they get progressively closer to the capsule, making sure, you know,

11:49 it's safe for all of our people to to go in and it's also

11:52 safe for the astronauts to come out cuz really at the end of the day,

11:55 that's what we're here for is we're going to make sure that the astronauts

11:57 get home safe after their tremendous journey uh to the moon and back.

12:01 Um but then uh also we have, like you mentioned on the a minute ago,

12:06 all of our imagery helicopters are taking uh imagery camera shots

12:11 of it as it's coming in all the way through and splashdown.

12:13 I mean, they'll see it as soon as it crosses the horizon

12:15 all the way to the uh to the the ocean here.

12:18 Um And then afterwards,

12:19 we have to recover actually Orion to bring it into the well deck of the ship.

12:23 Absolutely, yeah.

12:24 And so once the astronauts are safe on board,

12:26 then those same dive teams are going to transition into securing the capsule.

12:31 Uh they'll position some some equipment around it to kind of facilitate that.

12:35 The ship will move into position,

12:36 we'll attach a really uh big winch line to it and then a bunch of tending lines.

12:42 Uh we'll pull the capsule around behind the ship

12:44 and then start to slowly uh bring it in.

12:46 Uh and then uh yeah, Orion comes in, goes hard down, and uh everyone cheers.

12:51 Yeah.

12:51 Great day.

12:52 Great day, exactly.

12:53 Lots to coordinate, a lot to manage.

12:55 Basically, planning for this recovery,

12:57 Artemis 2 recovery uh started a month after Artemis 1 launched.

13:01 That was the uncrewed test flight of uh the space

13:03 launch system rocket as well as the Orion spacecraft.

13:06 That was November 2022, a month later all the planning for this.

13:09 How does it feel to be so close to welcoming our friends, our astronauts home?

13:13 I mean, for the the whole team, I walked around the ship this morning just

13:17 kind of visiting with a lot of people,

13:18 a lot of groups and just kind of get the feel of them.

13:20 And everyone has that same kind of mentality.

13:22 Everyone's excited, everyone's thrilled to see all

13:25 that work that's what been doing, like you said,

13:27 for last 3 years since right after the last one

13:29 came back till now and some people even further back.

13:31 Some of them go back a decade and so on or more.

13:34 So, to everyone is just excited and they're ready.

13:37 They're really ready for this and just to to be

13:40 able to see our our crew come back, that's going to be a thrill for everyone.

13:44 How are you feeling?

13:45 Are you ready?

13:46 Is this something you ever thought you'd be doing?

13:48 Uh I'm ready.

13:51 I'm I'm excited.

13:53 This has been the pinnacle of my career so far.

13:55 It really has.

13:56 I've seen a lot of firsts, a lot of lasts,

13:58 um but I can't think of ever topping seeing uh the first

14:02 crew to go to the moon and back in 50 years uh

14:06 and to be here and be a part of that and it's it's

14:09 just a a tremendous privilege and I'm on behalf of the whole team,

14:12 like I'm thrilled and so are all of us.

14:14 We're ready.

14:15 Yeah, I definitely think that those words really

14:17 embody how everybody on the ship is feeling.

14:18 So, thank you so much, Paul.

14:19 I appreciate you being here.

14:21 And so, Rob, we'll toss it back to you.

14:22 Again, we will continue to join you with live

14:24 updates from the ship as much as possible.

14:31 Thank you, Megan.

14:31 Back here at the Johnson Space Center,

14:33 the entry team of flight controllers looking over

14:36 the shoulders of Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover

14:39 there on the flight deck of Integrity and again

14:41 just below their feet in the mid-deck area,

14:44 if you will, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

14:49 They're in the final review of their entry procedures and all

14:53 of the activities that will follow here very shortly in trip-hammer fashion.

14:58 We should note that after splashdown occurs,

15:01 the flight control team here in Houston will

15:03 be monitoring the orientation of the Integrity spacecraft.

15:09 We are expecting it to splash down upright in what is called

15:13 the stable one configuration with the top of the spacecraft pointed upward.

15:19 Stable two would indicate that it is upside down in the water.

15:24 Regardless of the orientation,

15:26 there will be five inflatable airbags called the SEAMUS system.

15:30 That's the acronym for crew module up-righting system.

15:33 suit donning complete.

15:39 Houston copies.

15:42 We advise men acknowledging that the final steps

15:44 in suit donning are now complete for the crew.

15:47 Leak checks have been completed earlier.

15:50 The SEAMUS system, those five inflatable airbags, will be inflated with helium.

15:55 Those airbags will ensure that the vehicle remains upright.

15:59 While that activity is going on, the flight control

16:03 team here will be checking the systems on integrity,

16:06 also making sure that there's no leakage of toxic gas from the spacecraft.

16:11 It should take about 15 minutes from splashdown

16:14 to the power down of all of the systems on integrity.

16:17 And at that point, assuming everything is in a nominal fashion,

16:22 then the green light will be given for the Navy recovery

16:27 teams to begin to make their way closer to integrity to begin

16:31 the erection of a large inflatable life raft called a front

16:35 porch that will be buttressed up alongside the hatchway to the spacecraft.

16:40 That life raft will be used to bring the crew members

16:44 out of this vehicle once the hatch is open, one by one.

16:48 They'll get their land legs back after 9 days

16:50 of weightlessness before they are put in harnesses to be

16:55 hoisted one by one in sequential fashion and in alternating

16:58 fashion to the two hovering Navy helicopters overhead.

17:02 Houston, integrity, first status.

17:06 Go ahead.

17:10 Three and four are connecting umbilicals.

17:12 We're going to be stepping into leak check soon.

17:14 One and two will be seated.

17:15 Three and four will be free floating and will configure e-proc accordingly.

17:22 You think copy's all?

17:27 Reed Wiseman talking about the current procedures with the suiting

17:32 of the crew members and subsequent leak checks,

17:34 a final leak check for all four crew members.

17:37 Everything is actually running a few minutes ahead of schedule.

17:40 So, once the life raft is inflated next to the integrity

17:45 spacecraft and the recovery teams have arrived alongside of the vehicle,

17:51 the hatch will be opened and the crew members will be brought

17:55 outside into that front porch as it is called one by one.

18:00 They then will be hoisted into the hovering helos overhead and those helos

18:06 then will turn around once the four crew members are on board,

18:09 two for each helicopter, and will head back to the ship.

18:12 That should be about a 10-to-15 minute transit.

18:15 Once the helicopters land on the deck of the USS John Murtha,

18:20 the crew members will be exiting those helicopters and brought into medical

18:24 bay on the deck on the ship itself for comprehensive medical exams.

18:30 They will spend a period of time yet to be determined on board

18:33 the USS John Murtha before they are flown by helicopter to the shore in San

18:39 Diego to the San Diego Naval Air Station and ultimately will board a NASA

18:44 jet for the flight back to the Johnson Space Center here in Houston.

18:48 Just to recap some of the key times that are coming up.

18:51 We are expecting the separation of the crew module

18:55 from the service module just 43 minutes from now.

18:58 That is expected to occur at 6:33 p.m.

19:01 Central Time, 7:33 p.m.

19:03 Eastern Time.

19:05 That will be followed just four minutes later by the crew module raise burn, Uh,

19:10 use of integrity's thrusters one final time

19:13 in a 19-second burn to slightly tilt the vehicle up

19:18 into the correct orientation or angle of attack to ensure

19:21 that it enters the Earth's atmosphere at the right angle,

19:25 if you will, that will help deflect uh,

19:28 the build-up of heat against Integrity's heat shield.

19:32 This was a deliberate move, a change in the uh,

19:35 procedures from the Artemis 1 mission uh,

19:38 that resulted in unexpected char loss on the aft

19:41 coat heat shield that would had not been intended uh,

19:45 based on the entry trajectory for the Artemis 1 mission.

19:49 What we're doing is we deliberately uh,

19:51 changed the trajectory of the entry from a skip entry

19:55 that was about a 3,000-mi transit across the Pacific Ocean.

20:00 We are expecting uh, now from entry interface to the point of splashdown

20:05 to have a range of just 1,701 nautical miles

20:09 and that in of itself will reduce the exposure

20:12 time of heating on the heat shield of the spacecraft.

20:17 Once the raise burn is complete,

20:19 then the stage is set for entry interface at 6:53 and 31 seconds p.m.

20:25 Central Time.

20:26 That means that Integrity will be entering the Earth's

20:29 atmosphere at an altitude of 400,000 ft uh,

20:33 traveling at about 34,882 ft per second heading

20:37 for its splashdown site off the coast of San

20:40 Diego as you just heard from Megan Cruise on the deck of the USS John Murtha.

20:46 Splashdown once again under those three main parachutes

20:50 is expected at 7:07 and 8 seconds p.m.

20:54 Central Time, 5:07 p.m.

20:57 Pacific Time, 2 and 1/2 hours before sunset.

21:01 The actual total distance traveled for Integrity from launch

21:04 to splashdown is estimated at 694,481 statute miles.

21:12 Now, that includes the first high elliptical Earth

21:16 orbit following launch that enabled the Integrity to move

21:20 to 43,000 miles above the Earth at its

21:23 apogee and enabling a 24-hour period of systems checkouts

21:27 before the flight control team here and the mission

21:30 management team gave approval for Integrity to conduct

21:33 its translunar injection that propelled it on its

21:36 way to the Moon and its historic lunar flyby.

21:40 So, the total distance we expect this vehicle

21:42 to have traveled at splashdown 694,481 statute miles.

22:07 With everything uh proceeding on track and on time aboard Integrity,

22:12 the vehicle systems in excellent shape as the Earth

22:15 grows larger in the field of view,

22:17 let's go back to the USS John Murtha and Megan Cruz who is standing by.

22:29 Hey, uh Rob, welcome back.

22:30 Again, we are out in the Pacific Ocean staged just about 6 and 1/2 miles

22:34 from where we expect Orion to splash down now in just over uh an hour.

22:38 How exciting and the weather awesome conditions here.

22:41 I know you see some wind around blowing around my hair,

22:44 but really nothing to speak of when it comes to uh having

22:46 to recover uh our astronauts as well as no waves here really.

22:50 Um so, yeah, we're expecting a really great day.

22:52 Also, hopefully some really great views.

22:54 You can see behind me that some of the clouds are starting to break up.

22:57 So, that's really exciting.

22:59 And now, of course, this ship has a lot of people

23:01 ready and excited to welcome our crew back home including Dr.

23:05 Rick Shering here.

23:06 He is a NASA flight surgeon.

23:08 Great to have you here, Rick.

23:09 You too, Megan.

23:10 It is a blessing to be out here this day with our teams.

23:13 We've trained 3 years for this non-stop with the US Navy and along

23:17 with EGS and we've so looked forward to this day and you know,

23:21 just by God's grace everything's parting the skies and everything.

23:24 The crew's doing great.

23:26 Looking forward to come back and our teams are ready.

23:28 So, this is one of those days you've dreamt about and now it's

23:31 finally here and we're ready and just thankful to be a part of it.

23:35 Yeah, and you play a really integral role.

23:37 What is the last time you spoke to the crew

23:38 and how are they feeling in this last hour before splashdown?

23:42 Sure.

23:43 Yeah, so the crew woke up when they splashed down

23:45 they were woken up about 8 and 1/2 hours ago.

23:47 Me and my fellow crew surgeons doctors Chris Hassell and Raffi

23:51 Kumjian from the Canadian Space Agency spoke with them about

23:55 6 and 1/2 hours ago just to double check on how

23:58 they were doing if there's any medical issues, you know,

24:01 how they slept and then kind of go over

24:03 their landing day protocol for their medications for what we call

24:06 a fluid load try to replace some of the fluid

24:09 and electrolytes that they've lost with just the normal space adaptation.

24:13 Once they got to space they kind of have

24:14 to re-replace some of that fluid to help them

24:16 with the whole landing kind of readaptation to 1G

24:20 which they haven't done for the last 10 days.

24:22 And then just kind of let them know how things were going to play out, you know,

24:25 out with the open water teams all the way until we finally get to the med deck.

24:29 So, they were very pumped up, very hurried though.

24:31 They had a lot of cabin configuration, a lot of things to get ready.

24:35 So, they're excited but also very focused on the job that they had to do.

24:39 So, we've trained a long time for this and we're ready.

24:44 And you said some medications.

24:45 I mean, those are kind of just to mitigate the effects

24:47 of obviously they're they're more than 695,000 mile journey back to Earth.

24:52 It's just like anti-nausea medication, right?

24:54 Yeah, exactly, Megan.

24:55 The uh astronauts are very healthy, fortunately,

24:58 and uh even when they come back in re-entry,

25:01 you know, the uh the the human system is very uh kind of dynamic.

25:05 It has to readapt very quickly, and one of the most common responses they

25:09 get is just some stomach awareness to some nausea, even to some vomiting.

25:13 And uh you know, with our crews that land out in Karaganda, the Soyuz crews,

25:17 or our SpaceX crews, you know, they all kind of experience the same thing.

25:22 This will be the first time we're landing in water since the summer 1972.

25:26 And I worked with all the Apollo astronauts uh years ago,

25:29 and they all told me that you know,

25:30 landing in the water, especially in the Pacific, can be very provocative.

25:34 So, we take steps to give them medicines to really mitigate some of that nausea,

25:38 vomiting, help them feel a little bit better.

25:40 And also, sometimes just use a little anti-inflammatory medicine just

25:43 to help with coming back to 1 Earth, our 1 G.

25:45 The uh effects of microgravity,

25:47 especially as you age and you have a little arthritis,

25:49 uh you feel great microgravity.

25:51 And everyone kind of curses coming back to ground like, "Oh,

25:54 dang, 1 G." But uh so, that helps a little bit.

25:56 But for the most part, the main thing is just replacing that fluid,

25:59 and then trying to help them with that transition back to 1 G,

26:03 and then we're ready to go.

26:05 Yeah, and their health is assessed almost immediately after they splash down.

26:08 Yeah, so we have uh Dr.

26:09 Jesse Weng, and we have our independent duty

26:11 corpsmen who are the Navy version of paramedics,

26:14 extremely highly trained, highly experienced uh uh Navy medics and divers,

26:19 who will go out there, open the capsule about 25,

26:21 28 minutes after splashdown, and do the first initial assessment.

26:25 So, uh Jesse and his team will go out there and look at each crew,

26:29 kind of do their assessments, get vital signs, report back to Dr.

26:32 Saucier and Kumjian back in the med bay,

26:34 let them know how they're doing, and then um you know,

26:37 if they've got the normal kind of space adaptation kind of things,

26:40 we expect that, they're good to go on that.

26:43 If anything, you know, didn't go the way we want,

26:45 they're all prepared for that as well.

26:46 And Jesse and his team, I mean, you know,

26:48 this is their full-time job taking care of, you know,

26:50 sailors and folks uh who might be injured.

26:52 We don't expect any injuries, but coming back, you know,

26:56 going 25,000 miles an hour down to, you know,

26:58 20, you know, miles an hour is still a dynamic process.

27:02 I've heard it described as, you know, kind of like a car crash.

27:05 And and then the crew will be ready to go and Jesse

27:08 and his team will make that transition to get them out to the front porch,

27:12 do assessments on them again, call to our med bay,

27:15 and then once we have that and they're all

27:16 good to go and the crew is feeling okay, we'll hoist them up in the heels.

27:20 It's about a 3-minute flight back to the flight deck and that's

27:22 where me and astronaut chief Scott Tingle will actually meet them.

27:27 I'll get eyes on them,

27:29 make sure they're all good, just take very slow transitions,

27:32 and then one by one will either get them out with the the SMTs,

27:37 the the SAR med techs under each arm to, you know,

27:40 kind of just walk them very slowly to med bay,

27:42 which actually helps them acclimate back to 1G,

27:44 or if they really don't have their sea legs back yet,

27:48 then we might put them in what we call a stair chair,

27:50 which will be right behind them, and then just very slowly kind of get them back

27:53 in the med bay to start our full assessments with the team.

27:56 Yeah, so a really great team here to support them as soon

27:58 as they get back and also all throughout the mission, of course.

28:01 You talked a little bit about this, but obviously, you know,

28:03 we have seen astronauts return from the International

28:06 Space Station for over 25 years.

28:08 So, we kind of know that that journey, how it affects the body, but yes,

28:12 we're talking about humans returning from the moon

28:15 for the first time since 1972.

28:17 How is this different from your perspective?

28:19 So, it's different in one very significant respect with on Apollo for exercise,

28:26 they had something called the Apollo Exergym,

28:27 which was basically just a flight little canister with some ropes

28:30 and they would have some resistance and kind of do that.

28:32 And the Apollo astronauts really liked that.

28:34 They liked the ability to exercise

28:35 cuz you decondition from a musculoskeletal standpoint.

28:38 You lose your strength and your stamina very quickly.

28:40 We had something called the Orion Flywheel,

28:42 which was able to impart much greater loads in terms of resistance,

28:46 so they're able to do squats, dead lifts, different things.

28:49 Not dissimilar to what the ISS astronauts do, but with a lot less room to do it.

28:53 And they also did rowing activities for cardiovascular health,

28:57 and the crews loved it.

28:59 But for the lunar crews,

29:00 the future lunar crews, maintaining that physical conditioning,

29:04 which our astronauts strength conditioning rehabilitation specialists,

29:07 affectionately known as the ACERS back in Houston,

29:10 really work hard to get them in the best shape they're going to, you know,

29:12 have to be in to get to the moon.

29:15 That device hopefully will maintain that.

29:17 And Apollo only had about a 4.3 day journey to the moon.

29:20 Our astronauts are going to have about a 10 to 14 day journey.

29:23 So, maintaining that physical fitness,

29:25 that strength and stamina is going to be crucial for the success

29:28 of being able to do those very physically demanding lunar EVAs.

29:32 So, we're very excited about what the astronauts have said about

29:35 the device and what they have to say about the role exercise plays,

29:38 you know, going to the moon.

29:39 And also the mental benefit.

29:41 They they just really like sweating, breaking a sweat,

29:44 and actually just feeling like, you know,

29:46 they're they're just getting a workout.

29:48 So.

29:48 Thank you so much, Rick.

29:49 I really appreciate it.

29:50 I know they're going to be in good hands, so we'll let you get back to it.

29:52 Thank you so much.

29:53 Thanks for the time.

29:54 Back to you, Rob.

29:57 Okay, Megan, back here in Mission Control in Houston.

30:00 Everything is moving along in order.

30:03 This view of Reed Wiseman on the left, Victor Glover on the right.

30:06 We have good suit leak checks.

30:09 Everything aboard integrity is in excellent shape.

30:12 The vehicle with the Earth growing larger and larger in the field of view.

30:16 We're now just about 8,200 nautical miles away from Earth,

30:21 and closing in for a splashdown just 1 hour and 5 minutes from now.

30:32 Integrity, just under a minute till your GPS maneuver initiates,

30:37 and both GPS units look eager to acquire.

30:44 Outstanding seats three and four are working on seat strap in now.

30:50 Houston copies.

30:54 Once again, as we start to close in on some of the major milestones,

30:58 and the first one coming up in just 31 minutes.

31:01 And integrity, just confirming the LCG gas trap was able to be closed out.

31:09 Affirmative.

31:12 Copy.

31:13 Crew module service module separation scheduled just 31 minutes from now.

31:18 The key point of interest, of course,

31:21 will be the performance of integrity's heat

31:24 shield during its high-speed entry back into Earth

31:27 at the peak heating that is expected around

31:29 the spacecraft of some 4 to 5,000° Fahrenheit.

31:33 On Artemis 1, as I think most folks know by now,

31:37 we flew a trajectory known as a skip entry, in which we performed an initial dip

31:42 into the atmosphere to bleed off some energy.

31:46 Then we skipped out of the atmosphere and dipped

31:48 back into the atmosphere before splashing down in the Pacific.

31:51 But after the mission was over with, we noticed unexpected liberation

31:56 of some of the charring effects on the heat shield known as Avcoat.

32:01 Before the flight, we had an opportunity to sit down

32:04 and talk with entry flight director Rick Henfling to get a perspective

32:09 on what this all means and how the mission was redesigned

32:13 to try to protect integrity's heat shield to a higher extent.

32:17 Let's take a look at that interview.

32:20 Returning from the moon is a lot

32:21 different than deorbiting from lower Earth orbit.

32:24 When we return from the moon,

32:25 we expect to achieve velocities upwards of 36,000 ft per second.

32:30 And in order to slow down to a nice, graceful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean,

32:35 the flight crew is going to experience between

32:37 three and four times the force of Earth's gravity.

32:41 On Artemis 1, pressure build-up inside the char layer

32:44 of the heat shield resulted in the char losses we saw.

32:48 NASA established a tiger team whose job

32:51 was to investigate the cause of the problem

32:54 and then make recommendations on how to fly

32:56 the Artemis 2 mission safely and successfully.

32:59 And so for Artemis 2, we are going to fly a profile that ensures

33:02 the spacecraft will not see that same type of pressure profile.

33:05 And so the the char losses seen on Artemis 2 will

33:09 not be like the ones that we saw on Artemis 1.

33:15 Rick Henfling indicated that the orientation of the spacecraft

33:20 and the shortening of the distance of transit

33:23 to the splashdown zone from the point of entry

33:26 interface when we reach the top of the Earth's atmosphere,

33:29 which will be coming up at 6:53 and 30 seconds p.m.

33:33 Central Time, should do the trick in minimizing the deleterious forces

33:39 against that heat shield that were noticed on the Artemis 1 mission.

33:43 we see a beautiful sunrise over the west coast of Australia.

33:54 We copy.

33:58 Commander Reid Wiseman reveling in his final hour

34:02 in space on this mission as integrity is

34:07 passing over the southwest coast of Australia now

34:10 at an altitude of some 7,600 nautical miles.

34:15 That will begin the southwest

34:17 and northeasterly transit across the Pacific Ocean.

34:21 Let's talk a little bit more about some of the highlights

34:24 and some of the numbers associated with the points of interest here.

34:29 We are 27 and 1/2 minutes away from crew module service module separation.

34:34 That will be followed about 3 and 1/2

34:36 minutes later by the raise burn that we've discussed,

34:39 a 19-second burn of Integrity's thrusters to fine-tune its

34:43 angle of attack as it enters the Earth's atmosphere.

34:47 Entry interface is scheduled 47 and 1/2 minutes from now.

34:51 That's the point at which we will reach the top of the Earth's

34:54 atmosphere traveling about 34,882 feet per

34:58 second at an altitude of 400,000 feet.

35:03 Just 24 seconds after entry interface, we will begin a blackout period of 6

35:07 minutes in duration at 6:53 and 54 seconds p.m.

35:12 Central Time.

35:14 Now, right uh about 10 seconds after the blackout period begins,

35:19 we are expected to reach peak speed, which would be 24,661 miles an hour.

35:30 That'll be about 103 miles an hour short

35:32 of the velocity record set by the Apollo 10 astronauts,

35:36 Tom Stafford, Gene Cernan, and John Young,

35:39 when they returned from the moon on the Apollo 10 mission in 1969.

35:46 That blackout period is expected to last 6 minutes in duration.

35:50 At 6:54 and 52 seconds p.m.

35:53 Central Time, we'll reach our peak heating period of about 4

35:57 to 5,000° while we're in a communications

36:00 blackout from Integrity and its astronauts.

36:04 That blackout should end at 6:59 and 55 seconds p.m.

36:09 Central Time, at which point we expect to regain communications with the crew.

36:14 Uh Capcom Jackie Mahaffey here in the flight control

36:17 room will be uh uh talking to the crew,

36:20 calling them, and will await a response from the crew

36:24 as they come out of that blackout period.

36:27 and at that point uh their altitude will be just 157,000 ft above the earth

36:34 traveling at 13,000 ft per second with a range

36:37 to splashdown of just 147 nautical miles.

36:44 From that point on the next key series of events will

36:47 be the deployment of a series of parachutes that we discussed before.

36:52 First the forward bay cover shoot deploy that will pull

36:55 the forward bay cover away from the top of integrity

36:59 followed by drogue shoot deploy and then the main

37:01 shoot deploy that's expected at 7:04 and 44 seconds p.m.

37:06 Central Time that will begin the gentle descent of integrity towards

37:11 its splashdown at just a velocity of just 19 miles an hour.

37:16 And that will begin the recovery operations that you just heard

37:20 Megan Crouse discuss with her folks on the USS John Martha.

37:27 All of integrity's systems in great shape.

37:29 The crew is suited up.

37:31 Leak checks complete as we stand by for the next major milestone which will

37:36 be the crew module service module separation

37:38 just 24 and a half minutes from now.

37:57 All of the activities from the start

37:58 of entry interface to the point of splashdown

38:01 will be quite uh rapid fire just 13 and a half minutes from the point

38:08 at which we begin descent into the earth's

38:11 atmosphere till splashdown and just to show

38:14 you as Rick Shering the flight surgeon alluded

38:17 to in his interview with Megan Crouse Uh,

38:20 all of this happens to decelerate the vehicle from traveling

38:25 around Mach 33 to just 19 mph at splashdown.

38:30 All of that happening in just 13 and 1/2 minutes.

38:34 But the vehicle and the parachutes are all designed to support all of that.

38:38 So, we'll be standing by to report all that to you uh, in uh,

38:42 sequential fashion as these milestones are ticked off

38:46 and as we hear from the crew during

38:49 its entry back into the Earth's atmosphere and ultimately

38:52 when they emerge from the blackout period uh,

38:55 and at that point we'll be just minutes away from splashdown.

39:05 So, with all of those preparations uh, ongoing uh,

39:08 we can return here briefly for another report from the USS John P.

39:13 Murtha and Megan Cruise.

39:15 Megan?

39:26 And we'll regain that communication with the USS John P.

39:30 Murtha just momentarily.

39:36 In the meantime, everything is uh, on track aboard Integrity,

39:39 the flight control team here in Houston

39:42 led by entry flight director Rick Henfling.

39:45 Uh, the voice you will hear talking to the crew is that of Jackie Mahaffey.

39:50 She will be uh, reporting everything to the crew

39:53 and receiving their reports as they enter the Earth's atmosphere

39:57 for their 13 and 1/2 minute plunge back

40:00 into the atmosphere for splashdown off the coast of San Diego.

40:04 Now, we have the ship back with us and Megan Cruise aboard the USS John P.

40:07 Murtha.

40:08 Megan?

40:09 11 below rate.

40:16 Hey Rob, yeah, the excitement is really building here on the ship.

40:19 I'm watching right now one of the weather

40:21 balloons being lofted up from the ship.

40:23 Again, weather balloons very important for us to make

40:25 sure that we are tracking the right kind of weather um and also uh uh the the um

40:32 data that's needed for what's called our Sasquatch team.

40:34 Again, it's a team out of NASA that uh basically

40:37 make sure that the debris that comes off of Orion,

40:40 again, some of those uh pieces of the parachute uh system,

40:43 make sure that uh they don't fall on us

40:45 here in the sea and also uh our aerial assets, uh our folks in helicopters.

40:49 So, watching that float away right now.

40:52 But, with me right now is Captain Eric Kenny.

40:54 Uh he's the commanding uh officer of the John P.

40:57 uh Murtha uh naval ship.

40:59 Thank you so much for being here.

41:00 There are so many moving parts that you have to keep an eye on.

41:03 That's absolutely right, yeah.

41:04 But, first of all, on behalf of uh the crew of USS John P.

41:07 Murtha, Megan, thanks for having me on on today.

41:09 Uh happy to tell you what we're doing

41:11 and uh and excited to get the interview started.

41:13 Yeah, absolutely.

41:14 Why don't we actually take a look at the flight deck here?

41:16 We'll start there.

41:17 Um basically, we also, while watching this weather balloon float away,

41:21 we noticed all four helicopters leave the flight deck.

41:23 We now have an empty flight deck.

41:25 We had two imagery helo uh helos as well

41:28 as the two crew helicopters that will go recover the crew.

41:31 This is just one of the many things that again are uh ship of 550 people.

41:36 It's something that you oversee as commanding officer.

41:38 Yeah, absolutely.

41:39 I Yeah, every commanding officer, I'd say really every naval service member,

41:42 our our priority is always safety.

41:44 And as a commanding officer,

41:45 I take that as one of my primary roles here on board.

41:47 Mission accomplishment is important, safety always.

41:50 So, uh my day really has my I would say my message

41:53 to the crew has has sort of changed over the past 24 hours.

41:56 As we're leading up to to today,

41:58 we've been building up the excitement and and motivating

42:01 the team uh for the training that we've executed.

42:03 Uh but, really over the past 24 hours,

42:05 now I'm trying to get us to slow down a little bit, trust our training, right?

42:08 Don't believe all the hype, don't believe everything that's going on.

42:11 Just let's let's trust what we've what we've done to get

42:14 to this point and if we do that, we'll be successful today.

42:16 Mhm.

42:17 And also part of the big success is obviously

42:19 the coordination between uh NASA and the US military.

42:22 How does it feel um being able to support uh the human space program we have?

42:27 Yeah, uh I mean since 1959 with uh Mercury, Gemini Gem- Gemini, Apollo,

42:32 uh the the history between NASA and the Navy has been in lockstep.

42:36 Uh Uh but like any other skill,

42:38 if you don't practice it regularly, it that skill atrophies, you know?

42:41 So, we've had a few decades off from that.

42:42 But, you know, over the past 4 or 5 years,

42:44 really with this ship over the past year,

42:47 uh we've constantly trained and and working for this moment right here.

42:50 Um you know, building up the hype but you know,

42:53 to get to this point today, to be able to trust all the training we've done.

42:55 Uh we've worked with, you know, working with NASA,

42:58 the Air Force, the medical team, dive team.

43:00 Like, uh you want to talk about

43:02 high-performance organizations coming together, working in unison,

43:04 we are seeing that here on board uh the USS John P.

43:06 Murtha and I can't be more proud of every uh the work everyone's doing.

43:09 Yeah, you had some great words this morning saying just that again

43:12 uh that it's really nice to see everybody working together and so excited.

43:15 I mean, you just became the commanding officer of this ship back in February.

43:19 Uh how does it personally feel for you

43:21 to be a part of this uh historic moment today?

43:24 Yeah, I mean, first and foremost,

43:25 I'd say any uh opportunity to command any warship

43:27 in the United States Navy is a a tremendous honor.

43:31 Uh it's the pinnacle of any any naval officer's career.

43:34 Uh that being said, as my command of uh change of command was

43:36 approaching and I realized that Artemis was going to be in the window here.

43:40 Uh to say that I'm uh humbled and honored to be here is an understatement.

43:44 Uh uh what what really just excites me is the opportunity to see

43:48 this crew who has been training so hard over the over the past year plus,

43:52 you know, come together.

43:53 It it it it is what inspires me.

43:56 Listening to NASA and the ownership and and pride they take,

43:59 uh they make my crew better.

44:01 I think we're making NASA better together.

44:03 Uh that synergy is something that uh I'm happy to see

44:06 and and hopefully take forward with me in my career.

44:09 Yeah, it's all about partnerships.

44:10 You couldn't do it without you and we couldn't have

44:11 gotten to the moon without our uh international partners as well.

44:15 So, thank you so much, Captain.

44:16 It was really great to have you here today.

44:17 Thanks, Megan.

44:18 Awesome.

44:18 All right, Rob, back to you.

44:22 Thank you, Megan.

44:23 Back here in Mission Control in Houston.

44:25 Uh we just uh had a quick view of the crew.

44:28 Uh we'll get that view back and there they are again.

44:31 Uh here in Mission Control, the entry team of flight controllers uh led by uh

44:35 Rick Henfling and Jackie Mahaffey serving as the spacecraft communicator.

44:40 We have just uh handed over communications links

44:43 from the deep space network that uh we communicated

44:46 with the crew through uh from the time

44:49 of the translunar injection burn back on April 2nd.

44:53 We've just handed back just handed back

44:56 to the tracking and data relay satellite system as we

45:00 prepare for the crew module service module separation

45:03 that will take place just 17 minutes from now.

45:07 Uh with the Earth looming in front of uh Integrity as it

45:11 barrels back for a splashdown of the Pacific just 50 minutes from now.

45:15 We're just 5,700 nautical miles from splashdown.

45:20 Uh just uh one other quick note about uh the comparison

45:23 uh from the Artemis 1 entry profile to the Artemis

45:27 2 entry profile and how that is uh serving

45:30 as a extra layer of protection for Integrity's heat shield.

45:38 The Artemis 1 entry had an entry range of some 3,178 nautical miles,

45:43 a very long down track, and a very longer period of exposure

45:47 to heat loads than we're experiencing tonight.

45:51 It also had that skip entry profile that we discussed earlier,

45:54 dipping into the Earth's atmosphere, then back out, then back in.

45:58 It was about 20 minutes of exposure.

46:00 Integrity, Houston, Comm check on TDRS.

46:06 Jackie, we have you loud and clear on TDRS.

46:11 We have you the same.

46:15 And uh there's one of the weather balloons

46:17 being uh deployed from the USS John P.

46:20 Murtha.

46:29 So, the Artemis 1 entry had the the vehicle on GPS?

46:33 We haven't seen a track in yet.

46:47 Reed, we are watching.

46:47 We are starting to get into the window where they may start acquiring,

46:51 so should be within the next 10 minutes.

46:57 Okay, sounds good.

46:57 We're holding at step 17 uh and getting ready for a CM Marcias hot fire.

47:08 And that exchange uh indicating that uh we are expecting

47:11 to acquire data from uh the GPS system on board.

47:15 That'll be a navigational tool that will basically tell

47:19 uh Integrity's computers uh that they're on track down

47:22 the center line of the corridor for the entry

47:24 interface that will lead them to their splashdown point.

47:27 Once again, the Artemis 1 entry uh exposed uh

47:30 the heat shield for about 20 minutes of peak heating.

47:33 For Artemis 2, we're going to reach uh a down track distance of 1,701

47:40 nautical miles from the point of entry

47:42 interface with just 14 minutes of duration,

47:45 and it's basically a different uh angle of attack,

47:48 a little bit steeper angle of attack that will

47:51 protect the heat shield from excessive heat loads.

47:53 So, that is the difference between Artemis 1 and Artemis 2,

47:57 all designed into this mission to gather data to protect the heat shield since

48:03 the Artemis 3 mission and beyond will

48:05 have a different designed heat shield that will

48:08 allow that skip entry type of profile to be resumed for all of the future

48:14 missions coming back from the South Pole

48:16 of the Moon when we initiate lunar landings.

48:24 So, we've handed over to the tracking and data relay satellite system.

48:27 That's where we'll have communications for the rest of the flight.

48:32 Just to give you some time hacks here.

48:33 We're 13 and 1/2 minutes away from crew module service module separation.

48:38 And just 17 minutes away from the raise burn,

48:41 that 19-second firing of the thrusters.

48:45 That will basically be the final fine-tuning of the angle

48:49 of attack for integrity as it enters the Earth's atmosphere.

49:27 And once again, uh a dueling box view of some

49:31 of the assets that are involved in recovery operations today.

49:37 The uh Integrity, cabin configured, all crew suited and seated.

49:44 Houston, copy.

49:46 That confirmation from Reed Wiseman aboard Integrity.

49:50 As you see, uh the assets are being deployed to the splashdown zone.

49:55 At the time of splashdown, we expect the John P.

49:58 Murtha to be about 5 mi away from integrity.

50:01 Keeping a safe distance until we are sure

50:04 that the vehicle is in the water and upright,

50:07 and that it is in a good configuration system-wide for the recovery

50:12 teams to begin to approach the vehicle to erect that inflatable raft.

50:17 2 minutes to CM RCS warm-up hot fire.

50:23 We're ready.

50:25 That call from spacecraft communicator Jackie Mahaffey indicating that we're 2

50:29 minutes away from a quick burst of the reaction control system thrusters.

50:35 That will be a hot fire test prior

50:38 to the separation of the crew module from the service module.

50:44 The European service module has performed flawlessly throughout this flight.

50:51 Everything all the burns that had been prescribed for that service

50:55 module have been executed on time and without a problem.

51:01 There is the European flight control

51:03 room that has overseen the uh manufacturing,

51:08 the design of the European service module.

51:10 They deserve quite a bit of credit on this mission

51:13 for not only propelling the integrity and its astronauts toward the moon,

51:21 but also conducting the fine-tuning of its trajectory to bring

51:24 it to this point where we are dead spot-on down

51:28 the middle of the corridor trajectory-wise to bring integrity down

51:32 for its splashdown in the Pacific just 44 minutes from now.

52:16 What you're looking at is a computer-generated

52:19 visualization based on real-time telemetry from integrity.

52:24 Currently traveling about 16,000 miles an hour.

52:44 Integrity traveling about 16,000 miles an hour.

52:47 for the prop cautions for taking a look.

52:52 Copy that.

52:54 Now just about 5,100 miles from Earth.

52:57 Splashdown scheduled 43 minutes from now.

53:01 We're just 9 and 1/2 minutes away

53:02 from the crew module service module separation.

53:22 We are are confirming.

53:25 Integrity, we are assessing details, but so far looks like a good hot fire.

53:32 Looks good on board, Jackie.

53:33 Thank you.

53:35 And Jackie Mehaffey took the words out of my mouth.

53:37 I was just about to say that we had a good hot fire test of the thrusters

53:42 in advance of the crew module service module separation

53:44 that's coming up just 8 and 1/2 minutes from now.

53:47 This uh will begin the period in which we will

53:51 have rapid-fire succession of critical activities on board that will lead

53:55 to entry interface just 28 minutes from now where the vehicle

54:00 will enter the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of 400,000 ft.

54:04 The uh time of entry interface, 6:53 and 30 seconds p.m.

54:08 Central Time.

54:46 Integrity's astronauts were awakened at mid-morning

54:49 to begin uh their entry preparations.

54:53 And uh propulsion officer now reports a good hot-fire

54:56 test in preparation for the crew module service module separation.

55:10 We're now inside 41 minutes until splashdown.

55:14 Integrity, Houston, we have confirmed a good CM RCS hot-fire.

55:19 And although we are not seeing GPS acquired yet,

55:22 you can skip the troubleshooting steps in 157 for now.

55:29 Integrity, copy.

55:36 Uh that GPS discussion indicating uh that we will be acquiring

55:40 a navigational data for integrity through

55:42 the global positioning system equipment on board.

55:46 We just don't have it yet, but we will.

55:49 All of integrity's systems are in great shape

55:51 to support its high-speed entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

55:55 It uh once again will reach a peak speed of 24,661.21 mph.

56:02 Your apology GPS we at least have uh GPS one looking good on board.

56:11 We are confirming.

56:20 The guidance, navigation, and control officer here in mission control confirming

56:24 that we have good lock on GPS data.

56:28 We are uh on a communications link now

56:31 through the tracking and data relay satellite system.

56:34 Following splashdown,

56:36 we're going to lose that link and go to what's called a VLDR,

56:39 a very low data rate communications link so that we can uh

56:44 talk to the crew inside integrity as they are on the water.

56:47 Integrity, confirm we do see good GPS.

56:55 We do too.

56:56 Uh especially GPS one is accepting in nav channels one and three.

57:04 That uh GPS data is basically telling integrity's

57:08 onboard computers its position relative to the Earth,

57:11 but its trajectory, and its orientation according to flight dynamics,

57:15 and the guidance navigation and control officer is spot-on.

57:22 We have now armed uh the pyros for the crew module

57:25 service module separation coming up less than 5 minutes from now.

57:35 Once again, just 10 seconds after entry interface,

57:40 we will see Integrity reaching its peak speed of 24,661.21 mph.

57:49 That will be just seconds before we begin a 6-minute blackout period.

57:54 Integrity, Houston.

57:56 Your vehicle is in a good config for CM SM sep and go for CM raise.

58:04 Houston, we see the same on board and copy go for CM raise.

58:12 That's CM raise, referred to as the slight firing of 19 seconds

58:18 by Integrity's thrusters with a change in velocity of 9.9 ft per second,

58:24 a slight nudge of the aft end of the vehicle so that it's tilted a bit upward,

58:31 providing the final angle of attack

58:33 as the vehicle enters the Earth's atmosphere.

58:37 Uh this being the mitigating factor that will reduce heat loads on the heat

58:41 shield as we reach a point uh downrange from the start of entry interface,

58:47 some 1,701 nautical miles to the splashdown site.

59:02 Integrity systems in excellent shape.

59:06 We are currently 3,300 nautical miles left in this mission.

59:12 Splashdown scheduled 36 minutes, 39 seconds from now.

59:22 Integrity, Houston.

59:24 For the two enabled prop cautions,

59:27 what happened is while the thrusters were firing,

59:30 multiple pressure sensors on each of the strings diverged a bit from each other.

59:35 Those limits look to be set pretty tight.

59:38 We think it could happen again when the thrusters fire in the future,

59:41 so we are going to suppress those messages.

59:46 Concur with suppress, not inhibit.

59:48 Thank you.

59:52 That exchange between Jackie and half of our our Capcom for tonight

59:57 and Reed Wiseman aboard integrity indicating basically to ignore sensor data.

1:00:03 All of integrity systems are in good shape.

1:00:28 Now coming up on about 90 seconds

1:00:31 till the crew module service module separation.

1:00:51 All quiet here in mission control as we enter

1:00:53 the most critical phase of the completion of this flight.

1:00:57 All of the preparatory activities leading up to the vehicle

1:01:01 entering the Earth's atmosphere just 21 minutes from now.

1:01:17 Coming up on 1 minute.

1:01:20 Mark 1 minute till crew module service module separation.

1:02:27 And we have confirmation of crew module service module separation.

1:02:31 And a great view, albeit momentarily.

1:02:36 Houston, good stuff aboard.

1:02:40 Houston, copies and concur.

1:02:41 The European service module now separated from integrity, a job well done.

1:02:48 Integrity, no action for the four CDH cautions.

1:02:51 Those are SM related, not applicable.

1:02:57 Integrity.

1:03:13 So, with integrity now flying free on its

1:03:16 own for the remaining 32 minutes of this mission.

1:03:21 Next up, the raise burn, a 19 second firing of integrity's thrusters.

1:03:32 Integrity copies good GPS 2.

1:03:36 Coming up on the 2 minute mark until the raise burn.

1:03:39 Again, this is the final tweaking of the orientation

1:03:43 of integrity to put it in the uh right uh angle,

1:03:48 if you will, the angle of attack that it uh

1:03:51 will fly in during its entrance into the Earth's atmosphere.

1:03:55 Entry interface now just 18 minutes 25 seconds away.

1:04:01 This is uh a visualization but driven by real-time telemetry.

1:04:06 This is uh the maneuvering of integrity to the raise burn orientation.

1:04:12 Just 2,800 miles from Earth.

1:04:23 Houston, we got a great view of the European service module out the window

1:04:27 with the sun hitting the side and the solar

1:04:29 arrays and the NASA worm right there.

1:04:31 It's a beautiful looking machine.

1:04:36 Roger.

1:04:45 And we have completed the maneuver to the raise burn orientation.

1:04:49 1 minute away from the raise burn.

1:06:00 And the crew module raise burn is underway, 19 second firing of the thrusters.

1:06:08 And we have a completion of the burn.

1:06:22 Integrity, good.

1:06:24 CM raise burn, your flight path angle is within limits.

1:06:33 Integrity copies, looks good aboard Jackie.

1:06:36 So, the final maneuver is now complete.

1:06:41 Our trajectory for a splashdown in the Pacific 29 minutes

1:06:44 from now is set and will not be amended further.

1:06:48 And we have the right angle of attack to mitigate

1:06:52 any excessive heat loads on the vehicle during entry interface.

1:06:56 Integrity Houston, a heads up about com coverage.

1:07:00 Uh when you perform the 180 roll,

1:07:05 for the first minute or so in that attitude, we expect about a minute LOS.

1:07:12 We copy.

1:07:23 So, for those who are watching, the series of events coming up,

1:07:30 we will uh enter the first traces

1:07:33 of Earth's atmosphere 14 minutes 45 seconds from now.

1:07:39 6:53 and 30 seconds is what is pegged for entry interface

1:07:43 at an altitude of 400,000 ft traveling at approximately 34,800 ft per second,

1:07:50 range to touchdown or splashdown 1,701 nautical miles.

1:07:56 24 seconds after entry interface,

1:07:58 we will enter a 6-minute blackout period

1:08:02 in which we will lose communications with the crew.

1:08:05 This is expected due to the build-up of plasma around the vehicle.

1:08:09 That's an ionization effect due to the collision, if you will,

1:08:13 of the velocity of the spacecraft with the friction of the Earth's atmosphere.

1:08:17 That 6-minute blackout is expected to begin at 6:53 and 54 seconds p.m.

1:08:23 Central Time.

1:08:25 During that period of time, we will reach our peak speed of 24,661 mph.

1:08:34 That comes just short uh based on unofficial

1:08:37 data from the flight dynamics officer right now,

1:08:40 will come just short of the velocity record set

1:08:43 by Apollo 10 of uh 24,791 mph in 1969.

1:08:53 We expect peak heating on the vehicle at uh 6:54 and 52 seconds p.m.

1:08:59 Central Time, a minute and 22 seconds into entry interface.

1:09:04 At that point we will be just 204,000 ft

1:09:09 above the earth traveling at 33,000 ft per second.

1:09:16 The blackout period is expected to last 6 minutes.

1:09:19 We expect that blackout period to end at 6:59 and 55 seconds p.m.

1:09:24 Central Time.

1:09:29 From the end of the blackout period until splashdown it is just 7 minutes.

1:09:34 At which point we'll start deploying the series of parachutes to slow

1:09:39 integrity down to an ultimate splashdown velocity of just 19 miles an hour.

1:09:47 We see the same waiting for the 180 rolls.

1:10:08 The parachute deployment sequence once again will come

1:10:12 in several segments but written rapid fire succession.

1:10:15 And we have a great view of the moon out window too.

1:10:18 Looks a little smaller than yesterday.

1:10:23 Guess we'll have to go back.

1:10:33 Reed Wiseman and Jackie Mahaffey exchanging uh discussion

1:10:37 on a view of the moon that integrity's astronauts are

1:10:40 seeing in the final minutes of this mission that will

1:10:44 be completed with splashdown just 25 minutes from now.

1:10:48 Three forward bay cover parachutes will be used to pull

1:10:51 the forward bay cover off the top of the vehicle.

1:10:55 Then two drogue parachutes will be deployed to slow

1:10:57 and stabilize the crew module during its descent,

1:11:01 followed by three pilot parachutes that will lift

1:11:04 and deploy the main parachutes from the forward bay.

1:11:08 The final sequence uh will have three main parachutes deployed.

1:11:13 These will be 116 ft in diameter,

1:11:17 each uh main parachute approximately 265 ft long when reefed.

1:11:23 The uh parachutes uh will ultimately slow integrity down from its peak speed

1:11:28 of almost 33 times the speed of sound to a gentle 19 mph at splashdown.

1:11:44 The uh vehicle is now currently in a roll

1:11:47 to the proper attitude for entry interface.

1:11:49 Our trajectory is right on according to flight dynamics.

1:12:13 Integrity is uh on a trajectory

1:12:15 from southwest and northeast across the Pacific Ocean,

1:12:20 descending at a rate of 15,000 ft per second.

1:12:35 Range to touchdown 4,300 nautical miles.

1:12:38 All the systems in excellent shape.

1:13:00 Integrity Orion in the EI roll 180 attitude.

1:13:06 Looks good on board, Jackie.

1:13:13 This view out of one of Integrity's windows.

1:13:17 We had a call for three good barrels.

1:13:19 Those are barometric pressure sensors that feed the altitude and rate

1:13:25 of descent information to Integrity's computers

1:13:27 that will trigger the parachute deployment sequence.

1:13:31 We are less than 9 minutes away from entry interface,

1:13:34 22 minutes from splashdown.

1:13:56 You can see the reflection of one of the crew members in uh the window.

1:14:04 Out on the Pacific, uh the weather conditions remain go.

1:14:09 Just uh a few clouds, some scattered clouds.

1:14:12 Winds at 10 knots.

1:14:15 Wave heights just about 4 ft.

1:14:19 A gentle day on the Pacific for the homecoming of Integrity's astronauts.

1:14:44 Integrity back in EI attitude.

1:14:55 We should be saying on board, Jackie.

1:15:06 Descent purge is complete.

1:15:08 Crew and vehicle are configured for entry.

1:15:12 Houston copies.

1:15:17 And we're in step 37 transferring nasty to BFS.

1:15:45 And Houston, in instruction 509, we are not below 0.2.

1:16:02 Integrity, no action required.

1:16:07 Integrity.

1:16:21 Now 6 minutes away from entry interface.

1:16:25 We will hit the first traces of Earth's atmosphere

1:16:28 at an altitude of 400,000 ft traveling about 34,882 ft per second.

1:16:34 Range to splashdown at that point will be 1,701 nautical miles.

1:16:58 And once again, just a reminder, some 24 seconds after entry interface,

1:17:03 we do expect to lose communications

1:17:05 with the vehicle and the crew during a 6-minute

1:17:08 blackout period when a plasma shield will build

1:17:13 up around the spacecraft due to the ionization, due to heating effects.

1:17:23 And flight dynamics has just confirmed we will have

1:17:26 a blackout period of exactly 6 minutes in duration.

1:17:30 And once again, that's due to the fact that a plasma

1:17:33 build-up around the vehicle will prevent communications and data,

1:17:37 so we will not be able to talk to the crew members at that time,

1:17:41 nor will we receive data here in the flight control room.

1:17:45 Houston, everything is looking good on board.

1:17:46 Just confirm no pre-EI downloads.

1:17:52 Houston concurs.

1:17:55 That blackout period to begin at 6:53 and 54 seconds p.m.

1:17:59 Central Time, and again, will last about 6 minutes in duration.

1:18:12 We're 4 minutes away from entry interface.

1:19:10 This view uh from integrity as uh it crosses from southwest

1:19:14 to northeast across the Pacific Ocean 3 minutes from entry interface.

1:19:24 16 and 1/2 minutes till splashdown.

1:19:32 The uh USS John P.

1:19:33 Murtha and the recovery team is on station

1:19:37 and in position as are the airborne imagery assets that we

1:19:41 hope to receive uh imagery from as uh Artemis

1:19:45 uh enters the uh Earth's atmosphere and through parachute deployment.

1:20:07 All of integrity's systems are in great shape.

1:20:09 The crew is uh ready to uh complete

1:20:12 its mission just 15 and 1/2 minutes from now.

1:20:16 All of the activities today have gone off in perfect fashion.

1:20:20 No issues with the vehicle, no issues with the crew.

1:20:24 And the weather at the splashdown site is go.

1:20:56 Coming up on 1 minute until entry interface.

1:21:20 Mark 1 minute until entry interface.

1:21:25 1 minute 20 seconds until the expected start of our 6-minute blackout.

1:21:31 Integrity, 1 minute to a 6-minute blackout.

1:21:38 Integrity.

1:22:08 10 seconds till entry interface.

1:22:23 And we have crossed the threshold.

1:22:25 Now entering the Earth's atmosphere.

1:22:28 We're at 400,000 ft traveling 34,800 ft per second.

1:22:40 Time to splash down 13 minutes 10 seconds.

1:22:57 And as predicted, we've entered our communications blackout.

1:23:02 This will be a 6-minute blackout period.

1:23:04 No voice, no data from the crew.

1:23:14 We're 30 seconds away from the anticipated point of peak heating

1:23:18 on the vehicle where temperatures will rise to about 4 to 5,000° F.

1:23:24 This is the true test of our trajectory.

1:23:34 And from the G5 aircraft in the vicinity of the splashdown zone,

1:23:40 this view of integrity.

1:23:45 So that pinpoint of light shows the vehicle as it

1:23:49 enters the period of peak heating in the Earth's atmosphere.

1:23:52 The first tug of gravity being felt by integrity's

1:23:55 astronauts since their launch back on April 1st.

1:24:11 4 and 1/2 minutes until the end of the blackout period.

1:24:16 Time to splash down 11 minutes 33 seconds.

1:24:56 The landing and support officer reports

1:24:58 that the P3 has acquisition on integrity.

1:25:08 3 and 1/2 minutes left in this blackout period.

1:25:11 This is a visualization of uh the plasma buildup around

1:25:17 the spacecraft and the repelling of that heat on integrity's heat shield.

1:25:58 Flight dynamics reports that airborne assets in the vicinity

1:26:02 of the splashdown zone do have a visual on integrity.

1:26:06 Still 2 minutes and 40 seconds left in our blackout period.

1:26:11 Time to splashdown, 9 minutes 35 seconds.

1:26:30 Multiple airborne assets as part of the recovery

1:26:33 team all have visuals on integrity.

1:26:52 And the WB-57 flying in the splashdown zone also has a visual.

1:27:00 And the Navy helos also have visuals.

1:27:10 We're still in the blackout period.

1:27:13 Still do not have communications from the crew.

1:27:51 We're standing by for communications from the crew.

1:27:54 We should be out of the blackout period less than a minute from now.

1:28:20 We are now processing data from integrity.

1:28:39 Landing is support officer reports the small boats

1:28:41 are on route to the splashdown target zone.

1:29:19 Passing through 150,000 ft our trajectory is perfect.

1:29:24 We're getting intermittent views of integrity.

1:29:29 Still waiting to establish voice communication.

1:29:37 Integrity Houston copy check post blackout.

1:29:42 Houston integrity we have you loud and clear.

1:29:46 Your trajectory is nominal and your recovery teams have visual.

1:29:53 Guidance looks good.

1:29:56 No action for the enabled internal camera controller fail.

1:30:01 Big cheers from the viewing room here in mission

1:30:03 control as voice communication reestablished with Commander Reed Wiseman.

1:30:09 For America and a waiting world,

1:30:11 Integrity is 5 and 1/2 minutes away from coming home.

1:30:25 Passing 100,000 ft now.

1:30:32 Range to splashdown 19 nautical miles.

1:31:02 Integrity, impact to the camera controller failure

1:31:05 is no cabin views of the chutes.

1:31:12 Integrity.

1:31:16 We're processing good data through the GPS system.

1:31:20 A good view of Integrity.

1:31:21 Time to splashdown 4 and 1/2 minutes.

1:31:29 And a view of Integrity from the WB-57.

1:31:34 We're at 50,000 ft.

1:31:56 The pyros are armed for forward bay cover jettison.

1:32:17 And there go the first series of parachutes.

1:32:20 And we're on drogues.

1:32:23 And Houston, we're visual two drogues out the window.

1:32:29 Two good drogue chutes.

1:32:31 Next up We copy.

1:32:32 We see them.

1:32:34 Next up, the deployment of pilot parachutes that will pull the main chutes out.

1:32:39 Time to splashdown 3 minutes and 10 seconds.

1:32:53 Perfect descent rate according to flight dynamics.

1:32:55 Good rates on two drogues.

1:32:58 We see the same on board.

1:33:14 Passing through 10,000 ft.

1:33:16 Still on drogues.

1:33:33 Main chute deploy.

1:33:38 We're at 5,000 ft.

1:33:45 Search and recovery beacon has been activated on integrity.

1:33:51 And we have three good main chutes.

1:33:56 Good three main chutes.

1:33:57 Good reefing, good descent rate.

1:33:59 and we Integrity, cabin pressure indicates no need for hydrazine checks.

1:34:20 Integrity copies.

1:34:25 This is a perfect descent for integrity.

1:34:28 Its crew sounding hale and hearty on board.

1:34:34 Time to splashdown 1 minute 15 seconds.

1:34:49 Integrity about to complete a journey spanning

1:34:52 694,481 from its launch from the Kennedy

1:34:58 Space Center back on April 1st and a trip around the moon.

1:35:36 Passing through 1,000 ft.

1:36:17 Integrity splashdown sending post-landing command now.

1:36:21 Splashdown confirmed.

1:36:23 Copy splashdown.

1:36:24 Waiting on VLDR.

1:36:25 Splashdown confirmed at 7:07 p.m.

1:36:28 Central Time, 5:07 p.m.

1:36:30 Pacific Time.

1:36:33 From the pages of Jules Verne to a modern-day mission to the moon,

1:36:37 a new chapter of the exploration of our celestial neighbor is complete.

1:36:41 Integrity's astronauts back on Earth.

1:36:53 And the landing and support officer reports the vehicle is stable one.

1:36:57 We still will be deploying the crew

1:36:59 module uprighting system to maintain that orientation.

1:37:02 A perfect bull's-eye splashdown for Integrity and its four astronauts.

1:37:41 The unofficial uh splashdown time 7:07 and 47 seconds p.m.

1:37:46 Central time.

1:37:47 We'll get that refined for you.

1:37:50 That would put the end of the mission at a mission elapsed time of 9 days,

1:37:54 1 hour, 31 minutes, 35 seconds.

1:38:04 And we're configuring for very low data rate.

1:38:12 Once again, splashdown occurring in the Pacific,

1:38:16 south of southwest of San Diego at 7:07 and 47 seconds p.m.

1:38:22 Integrity, Houston.

1:38:23 Com check on VLDR.

1:38:30 Houston, we have you loud and clear on VLDR house.

1:38:34 We have you the same.

1:38:35 We'll meet you over in post landing.

1:38:39 Perfect communications established.

1:38:41 Hey journey, we are stable one, four green crew members.

1:38:49 Houston copies all.

1:38:51 Reid Wiseman reporting four green crew members.

1:38:54 That is not their complexion.

1:38:56 That is the fact that they're in great condition.

1:38:59 That's what that means.

1:39:02 So, stable one, upright.

1:39:04 The crew module uprighting system is being deployed.

1:39:06 The five airbags being inflated through helium

1:39:10 to maintain the upright configuration for the vehicle.

1:39:13 This was a textbook entry and a textbook touchdown for Integrity.

1:39:18 Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch,

1:39:20 and Jeremy Hansen back on Earth after a journey around the moon.

1:40:14 We continue to monitor the functioning of the SEAMUS system.

1:40:18 The airbags are being inflated to maintain

1:40:21 a stable one or upright configuration.

1:40:24 And there's a good view from one of the naval helicopters hovering overhead.

1:40:32 Reid Wiseman reporting four green crew members,

1:40:35 meaning they're all in excellent shape.

1:40:55 Integrity Houston for SAR beacon and radio.

1:41:01 SAR beacon is in 406 and we're powering the radio now.

1:41:06 Go ahead.

1:41:09 We see the beacon on, however the recovery team is not seeing the signal.

1:41:20 Your SAR radio uses the same antenna,

1:41:23 so you may run into trouble with the radio.

1:41:29 Okay, copy.

1:41:29 And we're also powering up the sat phone now.

1:41:42 So, integrity is uh in great shape.

1:41:45 And as the crew continues its post uh splashdown timeline activities on board,

1:41:52 Reed Wiseman once again reporting that all

1:41:54 four crew members are in excellent shape.

1:41:57 And we have five inflated inflated airbags to maintain an upright configuration.

1:42:04 So, that uh the reaction uh the re- the recovery team

1:42:08 uh can now uh begin a slow approach to the vehicle.

1:42:12 Meanwhile, here in the flight control room,

1:42:14 entry flight director Rick Hensling is uh polling his team of flight controllers

1:42:19 for the start of powering down the vehicle after a thorough systems check.

1:42:26 We have no toxic gases to uh be concerned about.

1:42:31 So, the recovery uh personnel can approach the vehicle.

1:42:35 But, not until we have powered down uh the spacecraft.

1:42:38 That's expected to take a few more minutes.

1:43:14 Integrity back on Earth following its historic flyby of the moon.

1:43:20 It was uh for all intents and purposes a textbook mission.

1:43:32 We copy.

1:43:37 We had Weitzman indicating uh some trouble with the uh SARSAT phone on board.

1:43:42 Uh but that's not an issue.

1:43:44 What is more important is that uh the vehicle is solid.

1:43:48 No issues as uh we begin the power

1:43:50 down of the vehicle to begin the recovery process.

1:44:29 The uh propulsion an officer here in Mission Control reports

1:44:32 uh that we have safed uh the prop system on Integrity.

1:44:36 Can you say again?

1:44:37 That was uh very weak and broken.

1:44:44 Integrity, Houston did not copy.

1:44:54 Copy that, Houston.

1:44:54 It might have been on the side radio, Samai.

1:45:06 All of the milestones uh were executed in uh perfect fashion.

1:45:12 Integrity uh entering the Earth's atmosphere right on time,

1:45:19 reaching its uh peak speed shortly after a blackout period began.

1:45:23 We emerged from the blackout period,

1:45:26 but the uh recovery uh imagery airborne assets were able

1:45:31 to pick up uh Integrity's descent uh almost immediately through entry interface,

1:45:37 tracking uh the vehicle all the way down.

1:45:40 And finally, uh you saw the uh sequence of shoot deployments.

1:45:44 First, uh the forward bay cover being pulled off uh

1:45:47 the top of the vehicle by a series of three parachutes,

1:45:51 then the the drogue chutes uh were uh deployed,

1:45:55 followed by the three main chutes that slowed uh

1:45:58 the splashdown velocity of Integrity to just 19 mph.

1:46:36 Integrity, Houston, with no joy on SAR and sat phone,

1:46:41 we'd like you to command uh an additional 15

1:46:44 minutes for a total of 30-minute power down delay.

1:46:57 All right, Jackie, we just selected T/D+ 30.

1:47:03 No joy on SAR radio or sat phone.

1:47:09 And standby, we have the master diver on SAR radio.

1:47:12 Please hold comms.

1:47:16 Hey, Lilly.

1:47:16 Uh excuse me.

1:47:17 Hey, Jackie, we just got the master diver on SAR.

1:47:39 A good view of one of the fast boats.

1:47:41 Integrity, Houston.

1:47:43 If you are happy with your calm with Master Diver,

1:47:46 you can go back to the 15-minute power down.

1:47:53 Okay, stand by.

1:47:54 Yeah, we'll confirm here in a second.

1:47:57 The crew on board Integrity coordinating

1:47:59 with the flight control team in Houston in Houston

1:48:01 here in Mission Control on the timing of the power down of the vehicle,

1:48:07 which will be the precursor uh

1:48:09 to the uh recovery teams approaching the uh spacecraft.

1:48:14 There are no issues uh with Integrity.

1:48:16 We've had a bit of uh broken capability in establishing a SARSAT or satellite

1:48:23 phone communications capability between the crew

1:48:26 on board Integrity and uh the recovery team.

1:48:31 That will get sorted out here shortly.

1:48:35 There's plenty of cooling on board Integrity,

1:48:38 so there's no rush to begin the power down.

1:48:40 did call you on the sat phone and uh not getting an answer there, either.

1:48:47 Concur.

1:48:48 We haven't had anything come through.

1:49:06 And Houston, if you could relay to recovery that we hear them,

1:49:10 but it does not but it does not appear as though they are hearing us.

1:49:23 Houston copies and read just to confirm you are pushing the PTT on the radio.

1:49:43 So, as we continue to sort out

1:49:44 the communications between integrity and the recovery teams,

1:49:48 uh we are standing by for the initiation of the power down procedures.

1:49:53 That uh as you see uh the recovery teams

1:49:56 are moving towards uh the side of the capsule.

1:49:59 The next major event will be the erection

1:50:01 of that large inflatable raft called the front porch that uh

1:50:07 will be the uh port of call for the crew

1:50:10 as they're being extracted one by one from the vehicle.

1:50:23 Integrity, Houston, for sat phone, we are going to attempt to call you.

1:50:34 Good idea, standing by.

1:50:38 And Jackie, yes, the we are pushing the push-to-talk,

1:50:42 the two buttons on the left side of the radio below the up-down arrows.

1:50:46 We are utilizing them.

1:50:47 I'm rebooting the radio to see if we get good comms.

1:50:53 Okay, we copy all and uh just to confirm you

1:50:56 are seeing that you're touchdown plus 330 for power, correct?

1:51:05 That's affirmative.

1:51:23 We are trying a back door approach to have

1:51:27 mission control here call the crew on their satellite phone.

1:51:32 This all part of the coordination for the power down

1:51:34 of the vehicle that will initiate the actual recovery operation.

1:51:41 The first boats with the Navy divers on board

1:51:45 are standing by waiting to close in on integrity

1:51:49 to begin the process of erecting the large inflatable

1:51:52 raft that's called the front porch that will be where

1:51:58 the astronauts are extracted from so that they can

1:52:00 have a few minutes to get their land legs back

1:52:05 before they're hoisted aboard the Navy helicopters for the flight

1:52:09 back to the deck of the USS John P.

1:52:11 Murtha.

1:52:42 And Houston, please do not reply.

1:52:44 NRD very weak.

1:52:48 Readable master diver.

1:52:50 We can hear but they cannot hear us.

1:53:42 Hey Houston, on OE-1, is there any chance that I have into NRD?

1:54:01 Checking.

1:54:20 This is Mission Control Houston.

1:54:22 While we stand by for the establishment of communications between Integrity

1:54:26 and the recovery team that is basically

1:54:30 standing by very close to the spacecraft.

1:54:33 We're going to go to the deck of the USS John P.

1:54:36 Murtha where Megan Cruz is standing by with administrator Jared Isaacman.

1:54:47 Hey Rob, yeah, just such an honor to be able to be here

1:54:50 on the ship to be able to share

1:54:52 and experience this moment with everyone together.

1:54:54 And of course, as you just said,

1:54:55 yes, here with NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.

1:54:58 Administrator, how did you feel getting to witness

1:55:00 this and seeing NASA at its best.

1:55:02 Oh, I mean, I'm I'm honestly I'm still at a loss for words.

1:55:05 I mean, you know, like the the childhood

1:55:07 Jared right now can't believe what I just saw.

1:55:09 I mean, almost been waiting my whole lifetime

1:55:11 to see to see this and then as NASA administrator,

1:55:15 I just couldn't be more proud of the entire workforce.

1:55:18 The years, the effort, the late nights,

1:55:19 all the hard work from across the country

1:55:22 that contributed to this incredible moment right now.

1:55:26 And yeah, incredibly grateful too for our teams here on the John P.

1:55:31 Murtha right now.

1:55:32 Yeah, look at the monitor here.

1:55:33 We've got everybody.

1:55:33 What do you guys think?

1:55:34 We just brought some astronauts back from the moon, huh?

1:55:40 Unbelievable.

1:55:41 Thank you.

1:55:42 Yeah, so grateful to the Navy, the sailors that are here, the NASA teams.

1:55:46 I mean, this is a joint effort that's on their way right now.

1:55:48 These recovery forces are getting out to our Orion spacecraft

1:55:51 to integrity get our astronauts back on the ship safely.

1:55:55 Yeah, and this is not just an accomplishment for NASA.

1:55:57 This is an accomplishment for humanity again.

1:55:59 A historic mission to the moon and back.

1:56:02 How does this make you feel and what do you hope people take away from this?

1:56:06 Well, I'll tell you, you know,

1:56:07 I think about I think about our the crew members that we've

1:56:10 all had an opportunity to observe over the last 10 days, right?

1:56:13 I mean, they're absolutely professional astronauts.

1:56:16 I mean, wonderful communicators, almost poets.

1:56:19 But then I think these were the ambassadors from humanity

1:56:22 to the stars that we sent out there right now.

1:56:24 And I I can't imagine a better crew than the Artemis

1:56:28 2 crew that just completed a a perfect mission right now.

1:56:31 So, yes, it's a huge moment for everybody, right?

1:56:34 I mean, we're back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon,

1:56:38 bringing them back safely, and to set up for a series more.

1:56:41 I mean, this is not a once-in-a-lifetime,

1:56:43 which you hear sometimes around here is like, this was a once-in-a-lifetime.

1:56:46 No, it's not.

1:56:47 This is just the beginning.

1:56:48 We are going to get back into doing this with frequency,

1:56:51 sending missions to the moon until we land

1:56:53 on it in 2028 and and building our base.

1:56:56 Yeah, are we going to build on the momentum for Artemis 3?

1:56:59 I mean, it's just around the corner.

1:57:00 Absolutely.

1:57:01 So, I mean, that's you know, part of me, too.

1:57:02 Like, I can't wait to get the crew off of off of integrity right now,

1:57:06 but also getting integrity back on this ship so we can start taking

1:57:10 a look at it because all that data is so precious to us right now.

1:57:13 I mean, we are going to definitely want

1:57:14 to take a good look at the thermal protection system.

1:57:17 We're going to want to download all the data they couldn't

1:57:18 transmit back to us and use that to inform Artemis 3.

1:57:22 But, we're already making progress, right?

1:57:23 You had SRB segments already showing up but at KSC

1:57:26 core stage for Artemis 3 is rolling out on April 20th.

1:57:30 Uh we're getting 39 we're getting a mobile

1:57:32 launcher one back in vehicle assembly building.

1:57:34 So, yes, there is a lot to celebrate right now

1:57:37 on on a mission well accomplished for Artemis 2 and at the same time,

1:57:41 we got to start getting ready for three.

1:57:43 Amazing.

1:57:43 And last question, you know, for people who joined us for all 10 days

1:57:47 to see what we can accomplish together with our international partners,

1:57:51 what do you what do you think about the fact

1:57:55 that we're going to keep doing this more and more and more?

1:57:58 It's It's incredibly exciting.

1:58:00 I mean, yes, it's the contributions.

1:58:01 Like, the best and brightest across the NASA workforce from across the country,

1:58:04 our industry partners, our international partners.

1:58:07 We had a Canadian Space Agency astronaut on on board in Jeremy.

1:58:10 We had the European Service Module.

1:58:12 And you think in the days leading up to this launch, I mean,

1:58:14 48 hours prior to launching Artemis 2,

1:58:18 I was meeting with the Italian Space Agency.

1:58:20 We signed a memorandum of understanding

1:58:22 to build a habitation module on the moon.

1:58:25 I mean, you have countries all

1:58:27 of our allies and partners coming together saying,

1:58:30 "We are committed to this effort.

1:58:31 We are returning to the moon.

1:58:33 We're doing it to stay.

1:58:34 We are building that enduring presence.

1:58:36 We are going to master the skills on the surface of the moon so someday we can

1:58:39 undertake missions to Mars." It's just an exciting incredibly

1:58:42 exciting time and we're not going at it alone.

1:58:44 We're bringing everybody along with us.

1:58:46 Absolutely.

1:58:46 And speaking of everyone, one more time, we're going to ask the crew here.

1:58:49 You guys ready to land on THE MOON?

1:58:51 WOO!

1:58:55 AWESOME.

1:58:55 I LOVE THAT.

1:58:56 OKAY, WELL, thank you so much, administrator.

1:58:58 Appreciate you being here.

1:58:59 We're of course going to stay on to watch the crew get extracted from Orion.

1:59:02 So, uh stay tuned and we'll see you back here shortly.

1:59:14 Thank you, Megan, and thank you, administrator Isaacman.

1:59:18 Uh we are in the process of uh working uh to establish that communications link

1:59:23 and to establish uh the procedures uh that will

1:59:26 lead to the power down of the spacecraft,

1:59:28 which is gently bobbing in the Pacific following

1:59:31 a bull's-eye touchdown that occurred at 7:07 p.m.

1:59:37 Central Time, 5:07 p.m.

1:59:39 Pacific Time, 2 and 1/2 hours before sunset in the Pacific,

1:59:44 southwest of San Diego.

1:59:47 We have uh once again heard from uh

1:59:50 the crew during that interview opportunity with the administrator,

1:59:53 and we have four healthy crew members on board.

2:00:02 We now have confirmation that the vehicle has

2:00:05 been powered down as uh per the procedures.

2:00:08 So, we have vehicle power down,

2:00:10 and the flight control team here in Houston, flight director Rick Henfling,

2:00:14 has handed over mission authority to the exploration

2:00:17 ground systems team out in the Pacific now.

2:00:20 We will physically not get off console uh with this team

2:00:25 until the crew has been extracted into the front porch,

2:00:28 that inflatable raft that will be erected along the side hatch of integrity.

2:00:33 So, we're standing by for that and the next step in the recovery procedures,

2:00:36 but everything is in great shape,

2:00:38 and we have four healthy crew members on board the vehicle.

2:01:02 All of the entry events went by the book,

2:01:04 no issues, perfect trajectory for integrity.

2:01:09 That was culminated with one final raise burn to improve the angle

2:01:14 of attack for the vehicle as it entered the Earth's atmosphere.

2:01:17 All of that flight dynamics computation worked like a charm.

2:01:49 So, we are standing by for the recovery team to approach integrity

2:01:54 and begin the process of erecting that inflatable raft called the front porch,

2:01:59 which will see the crew members be extracted from the hatch

2:02:04 of Orion into that inflatable raft before they're hoisted aboard two Navy

2:02:10 helicopters in a in a variety of different uh configurations uh

2:02:19 each crew member will be hoisted in sequential fashion in alternating fashion,

2:02:25 two crew members for each helicopter before they turn

2:02:27 around to head back uh to the John P.

2:02:29 Murtha.

2:02:30 Once on the deck of the ship,

2:02:32 they'll be brought into medical bay for comprehensive medical exams.

2:02:36 But, Reed Wiseman has reported several times

2:02:39 that the crew is in excellent shape.

2:03:00 So, just to recap, uh it has been some 26

2:03:05 and 1/2 minutes uh since the splashdown of Integrity in the Pacific.

2:03:10 The vehicle is in excellent shape.

2:03:12 It performed like a champ all the way down through the Earth's atmosphere.

2:03:16 All of the uh vehicle functions uh

2:03:19 were checked off in excellent trip-hammer fashion.

2:03:23 The parachutes all deployed as planned.

2:03:26 Splashdown occurring at 7:07 p.m.

2:03:29 Central Time, 5:07 p.m.

2:03:31 Pacific Time.

2:03:41 And uh after a bit of a uh tussle uh

2:03:43 to try to establish a communications link with the recovery team,

2:03:47 we were finally able uh to uh run through

2:03:50 the procedures for the powering down of the vehicle.

2:03:53 We've handed over mission authority to the exploration

2:03:56 ground systems folks out in the Pacific.

2:04:00 And uh the uh recovery team will be approaching the vehicle

2:04:04 shortly to erect uh the inflatable raft called the front porch

2:04:10 before opening the hatch to Integrity to bring uh the crew

2:04:13 members onto that raft before they're hoisted uh onto two Navy helicopters,

2:04:19 two crew crew members for each helicopter,

2:04:21 before they're flown back to the deck of the USS John P.

2:04:24 Murtha.

2:06:35 Mhm.

2:07:08 This is mission control Houston.

2:07:10 Uh after talking to uh the flight dynamics folks,

2:07:13 so we have a bit of a refinement on the uh splashdown time for you.

2:07:18 Uh their computation shows a splashdown time of 7:07 and 27 seconds p.m.

2:07:25 Central Time, 7:07 and 27 seconds p.m.

2:07:29 Central Time.

2:07:40 That would equate uh to a mission elapsed time of 9 days,

2:07:44 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 15 seconds.

2:07:55 Once again, uh from flight dynamics,

2:07:59 a splashdown time of 7:07 and 27 seconds p.m.

2:08:03 Central Time.

2:08:05 That would equate to a mission elapsed time of 9 days,

2:08:08 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 15 seconds.

2:08:21 Reports uh from uh the Pacific indicate

2:08:25 uh that uh the recovery team in communications

2:08:29 with the crew aboard integrity that the crew

2:08:31 remains in excellent shape as they await uh

2:08:34 the approach of uh the team for a final

2:08:38 hazard gas evaluation before they move uh to the side of the vehicle to erect

2:08:44 uh the inflatable life raft called the front porch.

2:09:07 Again, no issues uh with integrity.

2:09:09 Uh the vehicle is powered down.

2:09:12 All of its uh systems are now safe.

2:09:15 We have handed over mission authority

2:09:17 to the exploration ground systems folks in the Pacific.

2:09:21 But uh we will not uh stand down and uh have the entry

2:09:27 flight control team depart its positions until that uh inflatable uh raft,

2:09:34 the uh front porch, is erected, the hatch open,

2:09:36 and the crew having exited the vehicle.

2:09:39 So, that's the next step in the recovery process that will lead

2:09:42 to the hoisting of the crew members uh for two crew members for each helicopter.

2:09:47 They'll be hoisted to a pair of uh Navy helicopters that will

2:09:51 then fly a short distance back to the USS John P.

2:09:54 Murtha.

2:09:59 What you're looking at is one of the fast boats

2:10:01 uh circling uh the vehicle to make a hazard assessment.

2:12:20 Mhm.

2:12:39 This is Mission Control Houston.

2:12:41 Once again, you're watching the initiation

2:12:44 of the recovery of the Artemis crew aboard Integrity.

2:12:49 All of the Navy divers and the fast boats

2:12:52 are now approaching the spacecraft after conducting a hazard assessment.

2:12:57 The vehicle has been powered down.

2:12:59 Entry flight director Rick Hemfling now waiting

2:13:02 for the life raft, the front porch,

2:13:05 to be erected along the side of the vehicle so that the hatch

2:13:08 can be opened and the crew members are extracted from Integrity soon

2:13:13 to be hoisted one by one into a pair of Navy helicopters

2:13:17 for a short flight back to the deck of the USS John P.

2:13:20 Murtha.

2:13:23 If you missed it earlier,

2:13:25 we talked to flight dynamics and received a more official touchdown time

2:13:30 of or splashdown time as it were of 7:07 and 27 seconds p.m.

2:13:35 Central Time, 5:07 and 27 seconds p.m.

2:13:39 Pacific Time.

2:13:40 That would equate to a mission elapsed time of 9 days,

2:13:43 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 15 seconds.

2:16:10 Mhm.

2:16:31 Continuing to get excellent views from the imagery

2:16:35 assets out at sea in the Pacific of integrity,

2:16:39 we continue to get good reports from the landing and support officer who's

2:16:43 in contact with the recovery team

2:16:45 that the crew is in excellent shape, no issues.

2:16:48 They're just uh currently biding their time

2:16:51 waiting for the front porch to be erected.

2:16:54 We have no hazardous uh uh we have no

2:16:58 hazard gases and no hazardous situation with the vehicle.

2:17:02 It performed perfectly all the way down from entry interface

2:17:06 to its splashdown in the Pacific at 7:07 and 27 seconds p.m.

2:17:11 Central Time.

2:17:14 And as you can see uh the uh first phalanx

2:17:18 of uh recovery personnel now pulling up alongside of integrity.

2:17:30 This includes uh Navy divers and Navy flight surgeon and other

2:17:35 recovery personnel who have trained for several years for this recovery process.

2:18:18 At this hour, some 41 minutes following splashdown,

2:18:22 uh the vehicle has been powered down.

2:18:24 There's no hazardous gas emanating from the vehicle.

2:18:27 That's why the uh first uh team of recovery

2:18:31 personnel has been able to pull alongside uh Integrity.

2:18:35 And uh the reports continue to come

2:18:37 in that the four astronauts are in excellent shape.

2:19:04 Yes.

2:20:30 This is mission control Houston continuing to watch

2:20:32 the initiation of the recovery of integrity's astronauts.

2:20:38 One by one they'll be brought out of the spacecraft

2:20:41 onto a large inflatable raft just a short time from now.

2:20:46 In the meantime we can go back to the USS John P.

2:20:49 Murtha where my colleague Megan Cruz is

2:20:51 standing by to provide her situation report.

2:20:55 Megan, can you hear us?

2:21:03 Hey Rob, yes I can hear you.

2:21:05 Thank you.

2:21:05 Yeah, we're back here on the bow of the recovery ship

2:21:09 where there are still plenty of people peering out into the water.

2:21:13 We are not very far from the action everyone is seeing on their screen now.

2:21:19 The Orion spacecraft integrity in the ocean

2:21:23 surrounded by a number of recovery boats.

2:21:30 As Rob has been saying in those recovery boats NASA

2:21:34 and Navy personnel specifically trained to get the astronauts out of Orion.

2:21:54 And some of our wide shots,

2:21:55 you can probably see that there are six boats out in the water.

2:22:02 More than 40 people out in the water right now on those boats.

2:22:48 First order of business is to set

2:22:51 up the front porch and the stabilization collar.

2:22:56 You might also refer uh hear it referred to as a stab collar.

2:23:00 Basically, just to make sure that Orion stays upright,

2:23:04 doesn't sway in the water too much.

2:23:06 Again, to make it easier for recovery forces to get the astronauts out.

2:23:27 Again, we splashed down in the Pacific Ocean just after 5:00 p.m.

2:23:31 Pacific time here.

2:23:33 It's a requirement uh by NASA to be able to get

2:23:37 the crew out of Orion within 2 hours of splashdown.

2:23:44 So, doing great on time so far.

2:23:45 Plenty of time.

2:23:47 No rush, either.

2:23:48 Uh you know, I was speaking to NASA

2:23:51 flight surgeon Rick Shirring earlier in this broadcast,

2:23:55 and he said to me, you know, no rush to get the crew out.

2:23:59 Just want to make sure that they're feeling good.

2:24:02 And whenever they're ready to take their step

2:24:05 out of Orion and onto that large raft, the front porch, folks will be ready.

2:24:33 And as there are mission audio loops in mission control in Houston,

2:24:37 there is a mission audio loop here on the ship.

2:24:40 And it was just reported out that the side hatch is open.

2:24:46 Side hatch of integrity is open.

2:24:52 We're getting these beautiful shots from our aerial assets.

2:24:56 The ship itself, where I'm on, just 3,000 yd away.

2:25:04 Again, plenty of people on the boat here,

2:25:07 glued to the side closest to where they can see all this action.

2:25:10 And again, with just 3,000 yd separating us, great views from the bow here.

2:25:19 You can see now that side hatch is open.

2:25:23 One of the Navy personnel is about to get inside there.

2:25:37 In they go.

2:25:40 In total, four will go into Orion.

2:25:42 So, it'll be a little bit of a tight squeeze,

2:25:44 but the goal is to have a recovery personnel with each astronaut assessing them.

2:26:21 Boats getting closer now.

2:26:25 Again, that one that's right up against Orion, those are the divers that will go

2:26:29 in to the spacecraft to check on each of the astronauts.

2:26:34 These other boats will begin doing a number of things,

2:26:37 putting on that stabilization collar onto Orion, building that front porch.

2:26:46 Eventually they will retrieve the parachutes as well as tow

2:26:52 Orion back to the well deck of the recovery ship here.

2:27:14 And so as we wait for the Navy and NASA

2:27:17 personnel to get their assessments of the crew inside of Orion,

2:27:22 why don't we toss it back to Rob for an update.

2:27:25 Yeah, thank you Megan.

2:27:27 Here in Mission Control, Flight Director Rick Kenefick and the entry

2:27:30 team of flight controllers still on duty.

2:27:32 The vehicle has been powered down for some time now.

2:27:35 Uh there are no hazardous gases emanating from integrity

2:27:39 that of course allowed the uh recovery personnel to approach

2:27:43 the vehicle and then open the hatch to uh begin

2:27:46 the initial medical assessment of the crew as you just indicated.

2:27:50 Now we're standing by for the uh erection of that inflatable uh raft,

2:27:55 the front porch, alongside of the vehicle.

2:27:58 Uh that will enable the crew to be extracted one by one onto the raft,

2:28:02 have a moment or two to get their land legs

2:28:05 back before they're hoisted uh into two hovering Navy helicopters,

2:28:10 two crew members for each helicopter,

2:28:13 for a short flight back to the deck of the USS John P.

2:28:16 Murtha.

2:28:21 All of integrity's systems operated flawlessly throughout

2:28:25 the course of the uh approach to the Earth,

2:28:29 the uh entry into the Earth's atmosphere,

2:28:31 and all of the key milestones that followed

2:28:34 in this high-speed return to Earth for integrity.

2:28:37 A mission that spanned uh more than 694,000 mi from the vehicle's launch

2:28:43 from the Kennedy Space Center atop the Space Launch System back on April 1st.

2:30:07 As we mentioned at the top of the broadcast,

2:30:11 the last time uh that uh the Apollo program saw a splashdown

2:30:17 in the Pacific was Apollo 17 back on December 19th, 1972.

2:30:22 So, for the first time in uh 54, some 53 and a half years,

2:30:28 we uh have reenacted that with the arrival of Integrity's astronauts

2:30:32 as they flew around the moon in that historic uh lunar flyby

2:30:39 that began with a translunar injection burn that took them out

2:30:43 of uh Earth orbit following 24 hours of a high Earth orbit trajectory.

2:30:49 The high Earth orbit trajectory enabled flight controllers here

2:30:53 to have a full 24 hours to evaluate uh

2:30:56 the systems on Integrity and the condition of the crew

2:31:00 before they would commit to flying to the moon.

2:33:25 Mhm.

2:34:13 With the side hatch of Orion having been opened

2:34:17 to set the stage for the erection of the inflatable

2:34:20 life raft uh known as the front porch to be

2:34:23 erected alongside the spacecraft for the extraction of the crew.

2:34:29 Let's play for you an interview that uh

2:34:31 my colleague Megan Cruz conducted on the USS John P.

2:34:35 Murtha with Navy Diver First Class David

2:34:38 McMahon that explains how this process is unfolding.

2:34:43 Okay David, so you and some of your team

2:34:45 one last look over of the stabilization collar, correct?

2:34:48 Yes, ma'am.

2:34:49 Okay, so what is the stabilization collar?

2:34:51 This is what's going to stabilize the capsule out there in the ocean.

2:34:54 Uh we don't know how good the weather or the waves will be that day,

2:34:57 so this will help uh prevent any unnecessary occurrences from happening.

2:35:02 Uh stabilizing the capsule and astronauts inside.

2:35:05 So basically this is a float that'll go around Orion.

2:35:08 I'm assuming that what they're doing right now,

2:35:10 these are the lines that will attach the collar onto Orion.

2:35:13 That is correct.

2:35:15 And so what are they doing here?

2:35:16 So we've got the lower line that will

2:35:18 secure the uh inflation device before we inflate it.

2:35:22 Uh that gives us the go ahead that it's secure in its place.

2:35:25 And then we'll inflate it.

2:35:27 And then once that is done, we'll undo all the carabiners and get this orange

2:35:31 line on top tied in the same fashion.

2:35:34 And then this will be secured to the capsule and the astronauts

2:35:36 can safely take their first steps out of the capsule.

2:35:40 Out to the front porch.

2:35:41 Okay.

2:35:41 And how long will it take them to set up the stabilization collar?

2:35:44 They'll definitely be able to handle this in another 10 minutes.

2:35:47 Okay.

2:35:47 Wow.

2:35:47 And then you just mentioned the front porch.

2:35:49 So basically after they set up the stabilization collar,

2:35:52 then they set up what's called the front porch here.

2:35:54 That's correct.

2:35:55 Okay.

2:35:55 And what's the front porch?

2:35:57 Front porch is basically a bigger waiting room for the astronauts to sit

2:36:02 in while we wait for the helicopters to show up and grab them.

2:36:05 Okay.

2:36:06 So the medical team that was inside with the crew,

2:36:09 they're going to help them out and onto the front porch?

2:36:12 That is correct.

2:36:12 And then what happens here?

2:36:13 Uh we have uh higher trained medical personnel also

2:36:17 on board the front porch that will give them

2:36:20 a look over and just make sure they're okay

2:36:23 while we wait for the helicopters to show up.

2:36:26 Okay.

2:36:26 How does it feel?

2:36:27 I mean, your team, you, to be part of a mission that's returning

2:36:31 astronauts from the moon in more than 50 years?

2:36:33 We all feel extremely honored to be a part of this as well

2:36:36 as bigger mission for the Navy joining up with NASA to do great things.

2:36:42 And do you feel like you're ready to swim already?

2:36:44 Yes.

2:36:44 That's very ready.

2:36:46 Cool.

2:36:46 All right.

2:36:47 Thank you so much.

2:36:47 Thank you.

2:36:53 Once again, the recovery operations are continuing out in the Pacific.

2:36:57 We shortly should see that life raft, the front porch,

2:37:01 erected alongside the side hatch of the vehicle.

2:37:19 A number of flight controllers have come into the flight

2:37:22 control room to receive congratulations

2:37:24 from entry flight director Rick Henfling.

2:37:27 But we're going to stick with our operations out in the Pacific.

2:37:31 As we await the extraction of the four crew

2:37:34 members who are reported to be in excellent condition.

2:37:56 Again, while we stand by for that front porch

2:37:59 to be erected alongside of the side hatch of the vehicle,

2:38:04 let's go back to the USS John P.

2:38:06 Murtha and Megan Cruz.

2:38:08 Megan.

2:38:15 Hey Rob.

2:38:19 Pausing now to listen to some Pausing to listen to some internal audio loops

2:38:26 again the operations team here on the ship

2:38:31 communicating with everyone out on the water.

2:38:34 It seems like currents are hindering them a little bit from unfurling

2:38:39 and inflating the stabilizing collar as well as the front porch.

2:38:46 But again, the requirement to get the crew

2:38:49 out within 2 hours of splashdown, plenty of time.

2:38:53 So no concerns just yet.

2:38:56 But as calm as the water looks, yeah,

2:38:58 it looks like it's uh hindering the teams just a tad.

2:39:12 You can see in some of our shots that side hatch still open.

2:39:15 Again, inside there are now eight people inside.

2:39:22 Foreigner divers, Navy divers, all with medical training,

2:39:27 each assigned to an astronaut each.

2:39:34 Making sure that they're comfortable, feeling good.

2:39:45 As you've heard us say in the broadcast,

2:39:47 you know, they expect a little bit of discomfort.

2:39:49 Again, these astronauts just traveled back to Earth at 25,000 miles an hour,

2:39:55 a nearly 695,000 mile journey around the moon.

2:40:00 If you think you get carsick.

2:40:08 Again, six boats out there, lots of gear with them, just in case, right?

2:40:13 As we said, the crew reported feeling great.

2:40:18 But again, all those folks out there in case they weren't, right?

2:40:20 NASA is all about making sure we think about every situation that can happen.

2:40:26 And so, of course, wanted to be ready in case any

2:40:28 of our astronauts needed more medical attention while out there on the water.

2:40:38 You see now teams again trying to set up the stabilization

2:40:46 collar and front porch for the crew to get out of Orion.

2:40:55 They need both, right?

2:40:56 The stabilization collar will keep Orion from swaying

2:40:59 as you see it is doing now.

2:41:07 And then they will connect to the front porch to the stabilization collar so

2:41:12 that the crew can take two steps and they will be in the front porch.

2:41:41 Not a lot of chatter on the mission audio loops.

2:41:43 That's a good thing.

2:41:46 Again, things proceeding pretty nominally.

2:41:50 Even if they're fighting some currents out there on the Pacific Ocean.

2:42:06 Again, the goal setting up the stabilization collar and the front

2:42:09 porch so that the crew can rest comfortably in the front

2:42:14 porch get placed into harnesses so that two helicopters can lift

2:42:21 them off the front porch and onto the USS John Murtha here.

2:42:32 The helicopters are going to take turns picking up an astronaut.

2:42:37 So again, helo one and helo two.

2:42:53 Okay, and the recovery team here on the ship just got a report

2:42:57 from the undersea medical officer who is inside the capsule with the crew.

2:43:04 He is reporting all four members are green.

2:43:09 All of our four astronauts, Reed, Victor,

2:43:11 Christina, Jeremy, green, meaning they are feeling great.

2:43:15 Not the complexion of their skin.

2:43:17 They are feeling great, happy to be home,

2:43:21 and ready to be extracted as soon as possible.

2:43:30 And so, as I was saying, we have two helicopters circling.

2:43:35 The activity you're seeing on the water right now,

2:43:39 each will take turns picking up an astronaut.

2:43:43 So, Helo one will come on in, hover above

2:43:46 the front porch about 40 ft above the front porch.

2:43:53 A Navy recovery specialist will be hoisted down into the front porch.

2:43:59 There is restricted maneuvering doctrine in effect.

2:44:01 Will connect to the first astronaut, which we're expecting to be Christina.

2:44:08 And then Helo two comes around, picks up Jeremy while Helo one stays above head.

2:44:16 And then Helo one will come back in for another astronaut,

2:44:19 and then Helo two for the last astronaut,

2:44:22 and then back to the flight deck here on the recovery ship.

2:44:34 I was talking to assistant

2:44:37 Artemis recovery director Paul Sherpinsky, Sherpinsky.

2:44:44 He said Helos are a much quicker, safer way to get on board.

2:44:47 They did actually consider boats, but then if you think about it,

2:44:50 longer time, the crew would have to move through more of the ship.

2:44:55 This way the helo the helos will give them a more

2:44:58 direct quicker route to the medical bay for our four astronauts.

2:45:11 Beautiful shots from our aerial and imagery teams.

2:45:22 Clouds have dissipated for a clear view from the bow of the recovery ship here.

2:45:49 You can still see divers in the water there.

2:45:56 En-circling Orion.

2:45:58 That is that stabilization collar we've been telling you about.

2:46:05 As you saw in that interview just a few

2:46:08 minutes ago they have to first connect it to Orion.

2:46:13 And then once it's secured onto Orion, they can inflate it.

2:46:17 And then they'll further secure it with other harnesses and lines.

2:46:42 About an hour and 10 minutes since splashdown in the Pacific Ocean here.

2:46:57 Read, Victor, Christina,

2:46:58 and Jeremy back home after a history-making mission to the moon and back.

2:47:26 And if you missed what we said just a couple of minutes ago,

2:47:30 the undersea medical officer inside with the crew

2:47:34 in Orion reporting all four crew members feeling great.

2:47:47 Progress being made there on the stabilization collar.

2:47:50 It looks like they are beginning to inflate it.

2:47:59 And it looks like they're starting to unfold the front porch in order

2:48:07 to get that into the water here shortly and inflate that as well.

2:48:23 Again, more than 40 people out in the water right now.

2:48:30 And those Navy and NASA personnel have been in the water for now about 4 hours.

2:48:59 The reason why they had to get out so early is just to stage everything.

2:49:05 And actually here on the ship when there are flight operations happening,

2:49:11 you can't have anything else, right?

2:49:13 Just because a flight deck can be a dangerous place,

2:49:17 so they just want to focus on planes coming and going from the ship,

2:49:23 so that's why they wanted to get the boats in the water to make

2:49:29 sure that they have all the time they needed for the flight ops.

2:49:37 And then the same crew here out on the water

2:49:41 they will stay out in the water for a number

2:49:43 of hours after we've recovered the crew and get them

2:49:46 back on the ship because then they have to recover Orion.

2:49:55 All right, that stabilization collar looking good around Orion.

2:49:59 We're now seeing some recovery personnel getting on to that collar.

2:50:06 Again, they need to further attach it to Orion

2:50:10 to make sure that it can really prop up the spacecraft.

2:50:13 It's basically lifting it up off of the water just a tad.

2:50:19 Again, so it's not so so it doesn't sway so much in the water there.

2:50:48 And now that front porch looks like it's nearly fully inflated as well.

2:50:54 You can see a much larger surface area.

2:51:07 And so once the crew get out of Orion they

2:51:12 can stretch their legs a little bit on this front porch,

2:51:14 get some fresh air, and enjoy this beautiful day here on their home planet.

2:51:38 It appears teams now are about to connect

2:51:41 the front porch to the stabilization collar.

2:51:50 And at that point when both are secure,

2:51:52 we should soon see astronauts come out of Orion.

2:52:33 All these views you see also being fed

2:52:37 to the landing force operation center here on the ship.

2:52:45 Of course, it is very important for our recovery teams leading

2:52:50 the mission to have all the views that you're seeing as well.

2:52:58 Again, listening to their communication loop here on the ship.

2:53:03 Very quiet, which is a good thing.

2:53:07 It means things are going pretty nominally.

2:53:11 Meaning as expected.

2:53:42 Again, all this activity happening just 3,000 yd away from the ship.

2:53:47 So, that means this will be a very

2:53:49 quick flight back on the helicopters for the crew.

2:53:55 2-3 minutes and then they'll be back here on the ship.

2:54:07 Okay, saw a thumbs up from one of the personnel on the front porch.

2:54:15 It looks like they are now getting ready

2:54:17 to deploy what they call the air rescue vest, ARV.

2:54:28 And so, this is the harness that each crew member

2:54:32 will get into in order to be hoisted into the helicopters.

2:54:37 Again, those helicopters hovering just about 40 ft above the front

2:54:42 porch when they're ready to pick up each crew member.

2:56:05 This is Mission Control Houston.

2:56:07 Behind me, a fairly raucous scene as hundreds of flight

2:56:11 controllers have poured into the flight control room here.

2:56:15 This is reminiscent of the scene after the final shuttle mission of STS-135.

2:56:22 Although that was the end of a program, this is only the beginning of a program

2:56:26 with the uh textbook splashdown of Integrity and its four astronauts.

2:56:32 We're uh standing by for the crew to be extracted from the spacecraft.

2:56:38 Entry uh flight director Rick Henfling invited

2:56:41 all of these flight controllers who have contributed to this mission to enter

2:56:45 the flight control room to have an opportunity

2:56:48 to receive well wishes and to share the mutual glow that exists in the wake

2:56:54 of a textbook mission for Integrity on the front screen here in Mission Control.

2:56:59 A sign that says welcome home Integrity,

2:57:02 taking humanity back to the moon, going further, and returning safely to Earth.

2:57:07 So, all of that uh jubilation part of the uh post splashdown activities,

2:57:12 even as we await uh the crew being extracted from the vehicle to be

2:57:16 hoisted onto Navy helicopters for the trip back to the USS John P.

2:57:20 Murtha.

2:58:08 Once again, here in Mission Control this view

2:58:11 of the uh Artemis flight control room, known as the white flight control room.

2:58:17 This is the old shuttle flight control room and now

2:58:20 is the home of Artemis missions to the moon and beyond.

2:58:24 Once again, uh quite a few flight controllers were invited in by entry flight

2:58:30 director Rick Henfling to share in the uh

2:58:34 jubilation following the successful splashdown of integrity.

2:58:39 That splashdown occurring an hour and 22 minutes ago

2:58:43 as we stand by for the uh completion of the extraction

2:58:46 of the crew and ultimately their hoisting onto Navy helicopters

2:58:51 for a short flight back to the USS John P.

2:58:54 Murtha.

2:58:58 Splashdown occurred at 7:07 and 27 seconds p.m.

2:59:02 Central Time.

2:59:05 I had an opportunity to talk to the head of flight dynamics,

2:59:08 Jeff Birch, a moment or two ago.

2:59:11 He said the trajectory of integrity coming

2:59:14 through the Earth's atmosphere was so precise,

2:59:17 they've never seen anything line up on a ground track like

2:59:19 today's entry by integrity for its splashdown southwest of San Diego.

2:59:46 And the initial You can hear it.

3:00:06 Jubilation here in the uh flight control room.

3:00:09 The first crew member is out of integrity.

3:00:34 We are expecting the other crew members momentarily to be extracted.

3:00:50 We now have two crew members out.

3:01:14 Two crew members out, two to go.

3:01:37 We're about 1 hour from sunset out in the Pacific.

3:01:40 Everything continues to go well.

3:01:44 Integrity's systems function perfectly during its entry back to Earth.

3:01:50 And Reed Wiseman, the commander who will be last out of the vehicle,

3:01:54 reported that all the crew members were feeling very well.

3:02:14 Crew member number three now, Alex.

3:02:31 And now standing by for the commander, Reed Wiseman,

3:02:33 who will be last out of his ship.

3:02:39 Bobbing in the Pacific under almost ideal conditions,

3:02:43 Integrity spanned 694,000 miles during its journey from launch to splashdown.

3:03:32 And we now have Reed Wiseman out of the vehicle.

3:03:37 All four crew members now out of Integrity.

3:04:19 Once again, all four crew members now on the front porch.

3:04:23 And uh the procedure uh to begin hoisting them up

3:04:26 to these two Navy helicopters hovering overhead will begin shortly.

3:06:05 This is Mission Control Houston.

3:06:08 The mission is over, but the melody lingers on as a jubilation

3:06:13 continues here in the flight control room.

3:06:16 We should be expecting NASA's Associate

3:06:19 Administrator Associate Administrator to be joining us

3:06:22 shortly for a short interview while

3:06:25 the recovery operations continue out on the Pacific.

3:06:28 So, we'll stand by for that.

3:06:30 And then we'll turn it back over to Megan Cruz aboard the USS John P.

3:06:34 Murtha.

3:08:23 This is Mission Control Houston here in the Artemis Flight Control Room.

3:08:28 A number of flight controllers are basking in the glory

3:08:31 of the successful end of this mission that carried four

3:08:35 astronauts around the moon on a lunar flyby and the first

3:08:40 test flight of Orion with crew members on board.

3:08:44 Splashdown occurring an hour and 32 minutes ago after

3:08:48 a flawless descent back into the Earth's atmosphere for the vehicle.

3:08:53 Its four crew members in good shape simply enjoying

3:08:57 their time right now on the front porch as it were,

3:09:01 the inflatable raft alongside of their integrity spacecraft.

3:09:08 We're expecting associate administrator the NASA associate administrator

3:09:11 to join us here momentarily for a brief

3:09:14 interview before we turn it back over to Megan Cruz aboard the USS John P.

3:09:19 Murtha the recovery ship.

3:11:06 This is Mission Control Houston.

3:11:08 We're about an hour and 34 minutes since the textbook's

3:11:11 splashdown of integrity in the Pacific to bring home our astronauts.

3:11:16 And with us now is Kataria, the NASA Associate Administrator.

3:11:21 Ahmad, a little bit of history made tonight.

3:11:24 A little bit of history made over the past few weeks.

3:11:27 Your thoughts as this team here basks

3:11:31 in the glow of what they just accomplished.

3:11:33 Yeah, Rob, we're here in the control center and it's um kind

3:11:36 of overrun with jubilant folks in the Mission Control Houston as well

3:11:42 as engineering and folks that just want to be here part

3:11:44 of it as we watch uh our crew get extracted from the vehicle.

3:11:48 And you know, my my thought is always always always about these teams,

3:11:53 the team that's in the water right now pulling the crew out,

3:11:56 the team here in Houston uh that worked so hard over the last 10 days,

3:12:00 no sleep, to get this done.

3:12:02 You know, we still have some work to do to get

3:12:04 the crew to the med bay here um on the ship.

3:12:06 They all look great coming out, so we're Hopefully that won't be too long.

3:12:10 You know, you I think we saw the administrator on the boat, too,

3:12:12 giving his thanks to the Navy team on the Mertha,

3:12:15 which they're just an incredible group of sailors.

3:12:17 I was able to visit with them a couple weeks ago.

3:12:19 And then, if you pull it all the way back to the workers and the the folks

3:12:24 that joined the rocket at Michoud that made

3:12:26 the heat shield tiles that held together tonight,

3:12:28 that you know, that stacked the vehicle in Florida,

3:12:30 that that integrated the vehicle in Denver,

3:12:33 that fired the engines in Stennis, that fired the boosters in Promontory.

3:12:36 I mean, this is the entire team, you know, coming together and and being tested

3:12:40 by the environment that this machine went through.

3:12:42 And they they did it right.

3:12:44 The work was good.

3:12:45 They did it right.

3:12:47 You've said in uh a number of uh briefings, of course,

3:12:50 and in other forums that this is just a first step.

3:12:54 The cadence has to step up as the administrator has indicated.

3:12:59 Now, it's a little early for the full report card on how integrity did.

3:13:02 But, did this mission ultimately, from your eyes' view, exceed expectations?

3:13:08 It it it absolutely did.

3:13:10 I mean, I was waiting to talk about this until we're in the water.

3:13:12 And you know, I think we still have again work to do to bring it

3:13:14 in and and really kind of go through it bolt by bolt and see what we learned.

3:13:18 But, I mean, so far, given what we learned during the mission

3:13:20 and given how we performed on ascent, on entry,

3:13:23 the the you know, I always think about energy in terms

3:13:26 of this this states that you worry about the most.

3:13:29 And every time we put these machines

3:13:30 through these incredibly energetic states, they came through.

3:13:33 So, I'm fairly confident that we we we made a big

3:13:36 step tonight uh to get us on the path towards the surface.

3:13:39 I think the path to the surface is open now.

3:13:42 You know, we we do have to do all the work and we'll

3:13:44 make sure we we talk about that as as cleanly as we can.

3:13:46 We learned a few things during the mission, but I have to tell you this uh

3:13:50 this was an incredible test of an incredible machine.

3:13:54 From an American psyche standpoint,

3:13:57 the Empire State Building was lit up red, white, and blue tonight.

3:14:01 Our coverage was seen on baseball stadiums around the major leagues.

3:14:07 How captivating was this experience for the American people,

3:14:11 for the world in fact, as we return to the moon?

3:14:15 You know, I was I have not been able to watch

3:14:17 a lot of the coverage um as as we've progressed through the mission.

3:14:21 I will tell you just, you know,

3:14:22 from my witness in Florida before launch and then

3:14:25 seeing the the people's faces here and then,

3:14:28 you know, reading where I can about how things are going.

3:14:30 I think I think this has been a gift to the world from NASA.

3:14:33 NASA's given the world a gift um proving to to folks all over the place,

3:14:39 especially young people, and that to me is what this is really about.

3:14:42 Young people when they see what we can do when we work together,

3:14:45 when we when we have teams that collaborate,

3:14:48 that, you know, it doesn't matter how hard

3:14:50 um that the problems are, we can solve them.

3:14:52 I I'm hopeful that Artemis 2 um as folks witness

3:14:56 what we were able to do with this incredible crew,

3:14:58 with this incredible team that we've birthed into the world,

3:15:00 scientists and engineers and artists that have been inspired by this.

3:15:03 And even if they don't come work in the program,

3:15:05 which separately they should come work in the program

3:15:07 cuz Lord knows we need the help,

3:15:09 but even if they don't want to come work in the program,

3:15:11 hopefully they grow up to to recognize they can do amazing things when they

3:15:14 work together and contribute to society and be

3:15:16 good citizens and really change the way,

3:15:19 you know, the challenges that that are coming in the world are are

3:15:21 are overcomeable if we if we do if we work together like this.

3:15:25 And one final question.

3:15:26 You know, flying to the moon, we did it.

3:15:30 We've done it again this past week and a half or so.

3:15:34 But the engineering that went behind

3:15:36 the design of this mission and the precision,

3:15:39 the pinpoint precision of this vehicle entering that entry corridor,

3:15:44 it's almost mind-boggling.

3:15:45 Yeah, it it is incredible when you think about the energies

3:15:48 involved and the uncertainties involved that we were our you know,

3:15:51 when we inserted the vehicle into orbit, it was 99.

3:15:54 2% down the middle when we dropped the vehicle right on top of the fleet here,

3:15:59 you know, there are guys exactly where to go, but the guidance was was perfect.

3:16:03 You know, and it's interesting we I've I've I've got this question

3:16:05 a lot over the last uh few weeks about you know,

3:16:08 we we we did this we did this before 53 years ago and you know,

3:16:11 that I think I mean it it is

3:16:13 a reasonable thing to contemplate like what you know,

3:16:15 what what's going on since then and what I'd tell you is um you know,

3:16:20 when we did Apollo which again, the more we learn about what they did,

3:16:23 the more magical it it seems what they were able

3:16:26 to accomplish given the technology and the learnings that they had,

3:16:28 but when we did Apollo, the architects of Apollo,

3:16:31 you know, Gilruth, Seamans, von Braun, Mueller,

3:16:34 they what they really really wanted to do bef- you know,

3:16:38 as they were contemplating what it meant to expand

3:16:40 our range of action to the lunar surface,

3:16:42 what they wanted to do was learn how to live and work in space for a long time.

3:16:46 They wanted to do that first before they were confident

3:16:48 they could expand their range of action to the moon.

3:16:50 Now, of course, the politics of the time and the the mission

3:16:53 at the time was different and so they had to go straight

3:16:55 to the moon and and uh and and bring bring people home

3:16:58 and then after that the program kind of lost its its momentum.

3:17:01 But you know, after that, NASA kept moving along those paths, right?

3:17:05 So, we we we recognized during Apollo

3:17:07 that reusability was going to be important.

3:17:09 We spent a lot of money on those machines and you know,

3:17:10 we spent a lot of money on these machines here.

3:17:13 Um even though but but we recognized that reusability was important,

3:17:16 which is why we built a winged space plane called space shuttle.

3:17:19 And then we used that that reusable machine to build a space station.

3:17:22 And we learned for 25 years how to live and work in space

3:17:24 and have been able to develop technologies going in that can enable exploration.

3:17:28 So, really what I what I think is now 53 years later we're

3:17:32 at the point where the architects of Apollo would have been pleased that we're

3:17:36 that we're now ready to actually go back to the moon and go

3:17:39 back to stay because we've learned all the things we needed to learn.

3:17:43 There's a lot of people pleased here tonight

3:17:44 and we really thank you for joining us.

3:17:47 Homayoun Salafria, NASA's Associate Administrator,

3:17:50 as we begin to hoist the crew onto

3:17:52 the helicopters to head back to the recovery ship.

3:17:54 Thank you very much and congratulations Homayoun.

3:18:22 This is Mission Control Houston with the crew members

3:18:24 now beginning to be hoisted aboard the Navy helicopters.

3:18:28 Let's go to Megan Cruz aboard the USS John P.

3:18:30 Murtha who will take it from here.

3:18:41 Hey Rob, yeah, back on the bow of the ship here.

3:18:44 We are seeing the helicopters circling Orion.

3:18:49 The first one there having just completed picking up the first astronaut.

3:18:55 Kilo two now hovering just 40 ft above the front

3:19:01 porch lowering a recovery specialist out of the helicopter.

3:19:12 That person will touch down in the front porch just there.

3:19:21 The crew members already outfitted with a harness that will

3:19:24 allow them to quickly attach to the hoisting device.

3:19:34 Look at the power of those blades throwing water out at the center there,

3:19:41 the front porch with now three astronauts and the recovery specialists.

3:19:52 Again, crews already outfitted with a harness vest.

3:20:00 And here we go.

3:20:01 Second astronaut now off the front

3:20:03 porch getting hoisted into the second helicopter.

3:20:14 That helicopter will now hover just a distance away to give room

3:20:20 for the first helico- helicopter to come back and pick up the third astronaut.

3:20:32 As we wait for that helicopter to come back, make its way back around,

3:20:36 just want to mention that the President of the United States

3:20:40 called our NASA administrator today while he was on the ship

3:20:44 just minutes after we interviewed him live on our coverage

3:20:48 and congratulated him and NASA on this history-making moment tonight.

3:20:58 Helicopter one again hovering 40 ft over the front porch.

3:21:06 We will soon see another recovery

3:21:07 specialist getting lowered onto the front porch.

3:21:16 Wow, imagine sitting on that front porch, the wind, the water.

3:21:21 But again, the recovery team determines that a helicopter

3:21:26 flight back to the ship here would be safer,

3:21:30 faster, and more comfortable for our crew who

3:21:33 just completed a 10-day mission around the moon.

3:21:38 Third astronaut in the air getting hoisted

3:21:41 quickly back into the first helicopter now.

3:21:55 That first helicopter now on its way back to the ship here.

3:21:58 We will soon see it land in just a few minutes.

3:22:01 Again, all this action happening just 3,000 yd away from us,

3:22:04 so a very quick flight back to the flight deck.

3:22:11 And now the only person left on the front porch, Commander Reid Wiseman.

3:22:18 That second helicopter now making its way back over to the front porch.

3:22:27 Here it comes.

3:22:39 Making its final approach here.

3:23:14 The last astronaut, Commander Reed Wiseman,

3:23:20 now off the front porch and almost into the second helicopter.

3:23:25 Both now on their way back to the ship where we are, the USS John P.

3:23:30 Murtha, just west of San Diego in the Pacific Ocean.

3:23:52 Exciting to see our four crew members minutes away

3:23:56 from landing on the flight deck here on the recovery ship.

3:24:01 550 people on this ship, excited, ready,

3:24:07 anxious, looking forward to welcoming this crew aboard.

3:24:25 Watching them now with our own eyes, close to the ship here,

3:24:33 hearing them begin to hover on the flight deck,

3:24:37 which is just across from us here on the bow.

3:24:48 First helicopter coming in.

3:25:13 And wheels down.

3:25:15 Wheels down of the first helicopter carrying two of our Artemis two crew.

3:25:22 Pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch.

3:25:32 Halo one on deck reported on the recovery loop.

3:25:35 Again, the mission audio loops that the recovery

3:25:39 team are using here to communicate with one another.

3:25:42 And then announcement just made on the ship, integrity incoming.

3:25:49 Two more helicopters on their way to the flight deck,

3:25:51 one carrying the crew, the other one of our imagery helicopters.

3:25:59 Again, kudos to our imagery and aerial teams for giving

3:26:03 us these beautiful views of history in the making.

3:26:11 Set amid a gorgeous soon-to-be sunset here in the Pacific Ocean.

3:26:24 Second helicopter making its approach of the flight deck.

3:26:37 Plenty of people here on the bow with their cell phones out filming this moment.

3:27:03 Some impressive flying here by the Navy.

3:27:08 As we are seconds away from wheels down.

3:27:13 And there you go.

3:27:14 We now have all four Artemis two crew members on the USS John P.

3:27:20 Murtha.

3:27:28 I'm sure they're happy to be out of the water.

3:27:34 And on this recovery ship with again 550

3:27:37 people on board ready to welcome them home.

3:27:45 But first as we've been saying throughout the broadcast,

3:27:48 just making sure the crew feel good.

3:27:53 We reported that they were feeling good when they were in Orion,

3:27:56 but those were just initial quick verbal assessments of how they're feeling.

3:28:06 Their destination tonight, the medical bay here on the ship.

3:28:13 Right after we power down the helicopters here.

3:28:27 The team on the flight deck working quickly but methodically.

3:28:45 Waiting for just one more helicopter to touch down.

3:29:06 Very limited personnel here on the flight deck.

3:29:13 As that third helicopter touches down.

3:29:41 While just a few folks on the flight deck itself,

3:29:43 there are plenty more on some upper decks.

3:29:46 Let's see some bird's eyes.

3:29:49 A very packed crowd overhead.

3:29:55 Announcements being made over the ship's loudspeaker system reminding folks

3:29:59 to stay clear of operational areas like the flight deck.

3:30:07 So that teams can work quickly to get the crew

3:30:09 off of the helicopters and into the medical bay.

3:30:27 Splashdown today 5:06 p.m.

3:30:30 Pacific time.

3:30:33 We are within 2 hours of that splashdown time and already we have

3:30:39 all four crew members on the flight deck of the USS John P.

3:30:43 Murtha.

3:30:52 Again, crew waiting before getting out

3:30:57 for the helicopters to completely shut down.

3:31:05 Safety, of course, very important to NASA and the US military.

3:31:14 So, we'll wait just a couple of minutes here before we

3:31:16 start seeing crew members walk off the helicopters one by one.

3:32:01 I'm ready.

3:32:02 Now, let's do this.

3:33:02 All right, and now here we see

3:33:04 pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina

3:33:11 Koch sitting on the edge of one of the helicopters looking in great spirits.

3:33:18 That familiar smile and laugh from Victor, I can see it from here.

3:33:21 Christina, I'm sure feeling the same way,

3:33:23 just blocked a little bit by our camera here, but we'll see her here shortly.

3:33:30 A photographer taking their pictures.

3:33:34 Victor saluting folks on the flight deck.

3:33:37 They look like they're in great spirits.

3:33:40 Happy to be home, I'm sure.

3:33:49 If you're sitting at home,

3:33:50 I hope you too are wondering what would you want to ask them if

3:33:54 you got a chance to talk to them because that is what I'm thinking about.

3:33:59 Getting the opportunity to talk to or ask questions of these four astronauts who

3:34:04 just made history as the first crew to return to the moon since 1972.

3:34:25 Oh, there we see Christina there also smiling,

3:34:29 finally peering out, waving at the cameras.

3:34:31 Hello to you, too, Christina.

3:34:33 Yes.

3:34:35 Welcome back.

3:34:36 Welcome, welcome home.

3:34:41 A loudspeaker announcement on the ship saying welcome home integrity.

3:34:53 Victor in great spirits.

3:34:55 I can't see who he's talking to but I kind of think

3:34:57 that he might be talking to his other two crew members.

3:35:01 Shouting from across the flight deck, congratulations to one another.

3:35:16 And so now we see some Navy personnel walking up to the helicopter.

3:35:24 This is again the first helicopter carrying

3:35:26 pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch.

3:35:31 Both have taken off their helmets now.

3:35:48 Some pictures, video to catalog this historic moment.

3:35:57 A beautiful sunset just behind them here in the Pacific Ocean.

3:36:01 Golden hour.

3:36:02 These pictures will be beautiful.

3:36:10 Now we see NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.

3:36:14 He is on the flight deck as well as flight

3:36:16 surgeon Rick Shering walking over to Victor and Christina first.

3:36:22 We saw the administrator walk over to the other helicopter

3:36:25 which is carrying commander Reid Wiseman and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen.

3:36:33 We heard from Rick earlier the broadcast.

3:36:35 Again, he said he's going to be out there

3:36:36 on the flight deck to do another initial assessment of the crew,

3:36:42 ask them how they're feeling, anything bothering them.

3:36:49 But again, from what I'm seeing, they look like they're in great spirits

3:36:52 and feeling pretty good for folks who just

3:36:55 traveled 695,000 miles from Florida to the moon

3:37:01 and now here to the Pacific Ocean.

3:37:26 We're now seeing NASA Administrator Jared

3:37:28 Isaacman walking across the flight deck.

3:37:30 He had been talking to Reed and Jeremy, now approaching Victor and Christina.

3:37:35 A hug from Victor, a hug from Christina.

3:37:40 What a moment that we're getting to experience together.

3:37:49 I'm sure congratulatory words, you know,

3:37:51 we got to speak to the administrator live on this broadcast

3:37:54 as well and he said the kid in him right now,

3:37:58 giddy, absolutely giddy at what we were able to accomplish today.

3:38:07 Returning them home safely and in good

3:38:10 spirits after a 10-day mission around the moon.

3:38:15 And here we go.

3:38:17 We're seeing Jeremy walking, waving across the flight deck,

3:38:23 now on his way to the medical bay.

3:38:31 It's a short walk, Less than a minute.

3:38:35 Again, that's why the recovery team decided to use helicopters to get

3:38:38 them on the flight deck for that short walk to medical bay.

3:38:48 And now on the flight deck we see

3:38:52 the chief of the astronaut office, Scott Tingle.

3:38:58 Rick Shering switching places.

3:38:59 He's going over to the other helicopter.

3:39:01 Big hugs.

3:39:02 Big hugs from Victor Christina to Scott.

3:39:12 Again, a gorgeous sunset setting the stage for this recovery tonight.

3:39:28 All right.

3:39:30 And now here we are, Christina.

3:39:33 Making her way.

3:39:36 Looking thankful, grateful, happy to be home.

3:39:46 You can see she's looking up.

3:39:47 Again, lots of people just a few levels

3:39:50 up off the flight deck welcoming her home.

3:40:01 Scott holding the door like a gentleman,

3:40:03 but back on his way to the other crew still on the flight deck.

3:40:20 So still on the flight deck Victor Glover and Reed Wiseman.

3:40:30 It looks like Victor will be the next one headed to medical bay.

3:40:34 More hugs.

3:40:35 More hugs.

3:40:36 He's a hugger.

3:40:42 Victor looking good as he walks across the flight deck.

3:40:49 NASA administrator applauding Victor applauding for all the folks on the ship

3:40:59 with him who played a role in their safe return today.

3:41:26 And finally, just one Artemis two crew member left on the flight deck.

3:41:32 Commander Reid Wiseman.

3:41:42 Applause from the group there on the flight deck,

3:41:45 I'm sure as well as on the level just above them packed with people.

3:41:56 Reid looking good as he takes his steps towards the medical bay.

3:42:14 See our four Artemis two crew members back on the ship.

3:42:18 Again, now they will head into medical bay where they will be assessed

3:42:24 by flight surgeons from both NASA as well as the Canadian Space Agency.

3:42:31 A more in-depth assessment.

3:42:37 When they get to medical bay, they will each have their own nurse.

3:42:41 They will be helped out of their suits.

3:42:45 And then again will check to see that they're feeling good,

3:42:51 make sure it's not just adrenaline,

3:42:53 but that they are feeling good from their long journey back from the moon.

3:42:59 Beautiful shot of that sunset.

3:43:04 Illuminating our flight deck.

3:43:22 All right.

3:43:23 And now with their astronauts safely on board,

3:43:25 I want to welcome on Artemis recovery director Lily Villarreal.

3:43:29 Lily, I don't know how you must be feeling right now, ecstatic?

3:43:33 I'm Relieved?

3:43:34 Ecstatic, relieved.

3:43:35 Of course, we still have to bring the capsule into the well deck of the ship,

3:43:39 but this is a major milestone to have the crew here on the ship and in med bay.

3:43:46 You know, our team has been preparing and working

3:43:48 really hard and I'm just so proud of them all.

3:43:51 Um, everything well went very well, just as planned.

3:43:55 Our teammates in Houston, uh, the flight control team was just amazing.

3:44:00 Uh, we were able to, uh,

3:44:02 have great conversations and communications about everything.

3:44:06 And I don't know what else to say.

3:44:08 I'm just so excited.

3:44:09 It's such a wonderful feeling to, uh, get to this point.

3:44:15 I Again, we still have to get the capsule,

3:44:18 but this is huge for all all of us in lunar recovery and I couldn't

3:44:22 do this without my team and of course of full support of the US military.

3:44:28 There's going to be lots of, you know, high-fives when we get the capsule back

3:44:32 in and I'm so happy that the crew's doing well, Orion's doing well and you know,

3:44:38 thank you for, you know, for everybody watching.

3:44:41 Yeah.

3:44:42 Yeah, it was great to watch the crew come back to the ship with you.

3:44:46 How were you feeling when you were seeing them looking so happy,

3:44:49 so happy to be home and feeling really good?

3:44:52 You know, the funny thing is is that we had

3:44:53 video of them from inside the the the Orion vehicle.

3:44:59 They were like that from the beginning.

3:45:00 When we opened the hatch,

3:45:02 they're they're already out of their seats, having a good time,

3:45:05 waiting for us to open the hatch and they opened

3:45:08 the hatch and of course we did the first medical assessment.

3:45:11 Everybody was doing very well and they were just having such

3:45:15 a great time with with the medical team that was inside the capsule.

3:45:19 I think they were all taking selfies with the you know,

3:45:21 the phones that they have.

3:45:23 Probably talking about what they saw and it

3:45:26 was just it was just smiles all around.

3:45:28 They were having such a great time and then we put them on the front

3:45:32 porch when we were ready to put them on the front porch and again,

3:45:34 you could see they were just so ecstatic to be home and talking to everybody.

3:45:39 So, we were very happy to see all of that in in the control room of the alpha.

3:45:43 How remarkable is that again if we think about their journey,

3:45:46 the 695,000 mile journey around the moon and back coming

3:45:50 back at 30 times faster than the speed of sound.

3:45:54 I mean, how remarkable is it that they are in such good spirits?

3:45:58 I mean, this is an amazing crew.

3:46:00 I think you guys have seen it for the past 10 days.

3:46:03 They're wonderful people and we're so happy that they

3:46:06 brought us along on that ride and I can't wait to see all the additional videos

3:46:11 and and pictures that they have that, you know,

3:46:13 we'll get a hold of now that they're back

3:46:16 on the ground and I can't wait to hear how,

3:46:19 you know, a little more than what we saw

3:46:21 on the press briefings from the crew about what they saw.

3:46:25 It's just fantastic.

3:46:27 You know, some of my favorite people do around this 10

3:46:29 days was the science team and how excited they were

3:46:33 and so we this is exactly how we feel in the landing

3:46:37 recovery team when when the science team went Oh my goodness,

3:46:41 when they heard all the discussions about the moon.

3:46:44 This is exactly how we feel now in the landing recovery team.

3:46:46 We're so ecstatic.

3:46:48 Again, we have to recover the capsule.

3:46:50 I want to make sure we don't forget about our Orion.

3:46:53 She's all about business.

3:46:54 She's thinking about what's next.

3:46:55 But but yeah, speaking of these 10 days, I mean,

3:46:58 we have been along for the journey with them live with them 24/7 for 10

3:47:03 days and just really seeing the engagement

3:47:05 that we've gotten from around the world.

3:47:07 What do you hope people take away from this mission?

3:47:10 I think that's fantastic.

3:47:11 So, you know, my story was that I went to the Kennedy Space Center.

3:47:15 I'm actually I was born in Colombia.

3:47:18 I was 10 years old when we moved to the United States, but when I was seven,

3:47:21 my family took me to the visitor center and that's when I learned about Apollo

3:47:26 and we went to the moon and I learned about astronauts and and that story

3:47:32 was what really fueled me to want to do STEM and want to be an astronaut

3:47:37 and I think that this Artemis program is going to do exactly what you know,

3:47:44 what girls you know, my age back then at seven young people right now,

3:47:49 girls and and even like young men obviously,

3:47:52 but we we want to empower people to know that you can do this, right?

3:47:58 If you want to come and work for NASA, if I did it,

3:48:01 they can do it and Artemis program is just

3:48:04 going to inspire everybody and I'm so happy about that.

3:48:08 Yeah.

3:48:08 Like Apollo inspired me.

3:48:10 Thank you so much, Lilly.

3:48:11 Really appreciate you being here.

3:48:12 As you said, still a lot of work to do.

3:48:14 5 to 6 more hours to recover Orion that's still out in the water.

3:48:17 So, I'll let you get back to it, but you had beautiful words to say again.

3:48:21 We hope that this inspires people.

3:48:23 We hope that you come and join us at NASA

3:48:25 and accomplish great things with us in the future.

3:48:28 Back to you, Rob.

3:48:32 Thank you, Megan, and safe sailing out there in the Pacific.

3:48:36 Here in Mission Control, it is now all quiet.

3:48:40 The team of flight controllers and all their support personnel have

3:48:43 left the room to enjoy uh the aftermath of a textbook

3:48:50 touchdown by Integrity that splashed down in the Pacific right

3:48:55 on target to complete this historic flyby of the moon, the Artemis 2 mission.

3:49:00 With that, we'll wrap up our coverage for the night and point

3:49:04 you to a post-splashdown news conference in 15 minutes at 9:35 p.m.

3:49:10 Central Time 10:35 p.m.

3:49:13 Eastern Time where managers will discuss the return of the Integrity

3:49:18 spacecraft and the completion of the Artemis 2 mission.

3:49:22 With that, we'll wrap up our coverage

3:49:24 for this evening and historic mission in the history books.

3:49:28 This is Mission Control Houston.