Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Artemis II Has Textbook Liftoff For Trip To Moon
After a previous launch date was scrubbed for repairs last month and a roughly ten-minute hold while final checks were made, the Artemis II mission had a textbook launch last night at 6:35 pm Eastern Time. The 10-day mission will see the crew travel to the moon, orbit our satellite, and then return to Earth. While the launch went smoothly, it wasn’t without problems; NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman revealed during a post-launch news conference that a communications issue prevented the crew from talking to mission control, even though they could hear messages from Earth. The Integrity spacecraft, the name given to the Orion capsule by the four astronauts making the trip, moved to a high orbit less than two hours after launch, where it will stay for most of today to perform systems checks. The current schedule for the flight will have the mission make its closest approach to the Moon on Monday, possibly reaching a greater distance from Earth than any humans have before. The crew: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, are the first mission to the moon since 1972’s Apollo 17.
2 Iran Conflict: President Trump Addresses Nation
In a prime-time address from the White House last night, President Trump told the nation that U.S. "core strategic objectives" in Iran are "nearing completion" and promised the military campaign would wrap up quickly. He said the U.S. plans to hit Iran "extremely hard" over the next two weeks, while at the same time saying discussions with Tehran are ongoing. On the Strait of Hormuz and the global energy disruptions the blockade has caused, Trump offered two pieces of advice to affected countries: purchase oil from the United States, or find the courage to protect the passageway themselves. He predicted the strait would reopen naturally once the conflict ends, without requiring U.S. involvement. A large portion of President Trump’s Cabinet attended the address.
3 Johnson And Thune Announce Plan To End DHS Shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced yesterday that Congress will pursue a two-track approach to end the record 45-day DHS shutdown. The plan calls for funding most of the department through the regular appropriations process while using budget reconciliation to separately fund immigration enforcement agencies ICE and Customs and Border Protection, bypassing the need for Democratic support in the Senate. Trump had demanded a bill on his desk by June 1st. The approach caves somewhat to the Senate's position, which Democrats had supported, but passing anything through reconciliation will require near-unanimous Republican support in both chambers, a challenging task given razor-thin GOP margins.