From his front-row seat aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Chris Williams, KJ5GEW, got the best view of all of the Artemis 2 as it awaits its crew of four. Chris was able to capture the image on camera. He posted it on the social media site, X, on Monday the 19th of January.
Alongside the image he wrote: [quote] "If you zoom in on the rightmost launch pad, you can see a shadow just to the left of the center of the pad. That shadow is from the rocket and launch tower that will soon take four of my friends on a trip around the moon." [endquote]
They're not just his friends and fellow astronauts - just like Chris, three of them have their ham radio licenses: Commander Reid Wiseman, KF5LKT, pilot Victor Glover, KI5BKC and mission specialist, Jeremy Hansen, KF5LKU. The fourth crew member is mission specialist Christina Koch. The crew's launch toward the moon could come as early as February.
Though Chris is scheduled to stay aboard the ISS for a few more months, once Artemis is launched, the crew won't coming by for their closeup. The journey is expected to last 10 days before it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean.
