Tensions were high in the hours leading up to last month's Artemis 1 launch.
Center and the press site at KSC are about as close as anyone is permitted to get to the area's launch pads while a rocket is begin fueled. Both sit just under 3.5 miles from Launch Complex 39B , where Artemis 1 was launched. Getting any closer is a safety violation — except for NASA's Red Crew. These specially trained technicians are deployed to fix issues at the pad, next to pressurized and fueled launch vehicles. It is not a job for the faint of heart.
Relief came as NASA announced the team's success and a forthcoming T-0 time from mission managers, but the excitement was interrupted by a hold called due to a faulty ethernet connection at a downrange ground tracking station. The clock was stuck at T-10 minutes, and again uncertainty grew around the possibility of launching.
Finally, just after 1:36 a.m. on Wednesday , Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson came on NASA's broadcast from mission control to give the"go" to resume the countdown. Silence fell over KSC's press room as she began:"On behalf of all the men and women across our great nation who have to worked to bring this hardware together to make this day possible, and for the Artemis generation, this is for you.
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