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Artemis II Launch Coverage Sloppy

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epmarkr

I grew up in the Apollo era, and saw two things today in the TV coverage that would NEVER happen on an Apollo launch:
1) (NASA?) camera covering the lift-off (as the rocket leaves the pad) was simply a black screen at lift off (same on all 3 networks)
2) NBC must have been paying too much attention to Tom Llamas; they missed the launch control countdown (10, 9, 8, etc)

Both issues seem a little more than "shaking the rust off". Less preparation? Lack of understanding the critical elements of launch?

While I realize the big 3 (and others) need to educate the few generations that grew up after Apollo, I heard the word's "finger's-crossed" and "prayers" too much today. Yes, it's dangerous work, but it's part of the job. Neil Armstrong ejected from a lunar lander simulator and went back to his office to work. Yes, they're heroes, but they also know what they're up against.
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Uncle Walter, Frank McGee, and Jules Bergman must be spinning in their graves if the coverage was that bad.
 
Keep in mind that at one time, these things happened so frequently that the networks had trailers on location at the Cape full time.

By the 80s, things were so routine that some groups didn't even cover launches. Until Challenger.

Yes the main camera is a mult camera that all networks access. If it went dark, that's NASA.

Other parts of the government, those based in DC, treat the media like the enemy. That may be the case now with NASA. At one time, they provided press briefings and lots of information.
 
As someone who has watched plenty of space launches going back to Project Mercury, I agree that the Artemis II coverage was surprisingly sloppy. There were a couple times that I yelled at the TV “Show the damn rocket!!!” Shot changes were too slow, and we don’t need to see artsy attempts like panning the exhaust trail and other dubious shot selections. Coverage in the past has generally been pretty good.

Of course many of the shots are provided by NASA TV. With all the slashing of government jobs by the current administration I wonder if a bunch of experienced NASA TV employees got tossed out the door, with today’s messy coverage being the result.
 
epmarkr said:
I grew up in the Apollo era...
Click to expand...

Then you'll get this reference:

565fbf25a311fa3d4fec0b9263f424f00cab23a443523f563a106fde31f8c842.jpg

All kidding aside, this is the loss of institutional memory. Apollo's last launch was 54 years ago. Hell, the Challenger disaster was 40 years ago.

Which, by the way, we just observed the anniversary of two months ago---so the "fingers crossed" and "prayers" stuff actually makes a lot of sense in context, to say nothing of the totally understandable unspoken question "If we're rusty at this, does NASA remember how this works?"

Thank God, so far, the answer is yes.
 
The networks all take the NASA TV feed, yes it was a sloppy broadcast. I’m waiting to see the engineering cameras. Those are the real high res shots.
 
TheBigA said:
Once again, any of the closeup camera work came from NASA. The media and the public are kept miles away from the actual launch.
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And all of those cameras are automated tracking cameras. Glitches happen, this one just happened at the worst moment.
 
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NASA has the biggest PR coverage going these days and the media puppets it perfectly.

I have yet to see or hear any specific knowledge coming out of this particular effort as to how it will facilitate building a station on the Moon.

And if anyone thinks it is a stepping stone to Mars (for whatever reason we would ever want to go there) I direct them to recent evaluations by Neil Degrasse Tyson (here's a hint...it ain't happening).
 
landtuna said:
NASA has the biggest PR coverage going these days and the media puppets it perfectly.

I have yet to see or hear any specific knowledge coming out of this particular effort as to how it will facilitate building a station on the Moon.

And if anyone thinks it is a stepping stone to Mars (for whatever reason we would ever want to go there) I direct them to recent evaluations by Neil Degrasse Tyson (here's a hint...it ain't happening).
Click to expand...
Mars isn’t happening any time soon. We need to perfect living on the moon first.
 
landtuna said:
I have yet to see or hear any specific knowledge coming out of this particular effort as to how it will facilitate building a station on the Moon.
Click to expand...

From NBC News:

Wiseman, Koch, Glover and Hansen know that their mission is a critical stepping stone for NASA’s efforts to return to the moon. During the journey, the crew members are tasked with demonstrating docking procedures in Earth’s orbit, conducting science experiments and testing various systems aboard the Orion capsule as a kind of trial run for future Artemis missions.

The next one, the Artemis III mission in 2027, will conduct technology demonstrations in low-Earth orbit, including testing out how a moon lander built by SpaceX or Blue Origin will dock with the Orion capsule. NASA’s moon-landing plan calls for astronauts to transfer to that other vehicle while orbiting the moon, then use it to descend to the lunar surface.

In 2028, NASA plans for the Artemis IV mission to land astronauts on the moon.
Click to expand...

www.nbcnews.com

These four astronauts could soon travel farther from Earth than anyone has gone before

The crew is blazing NASA's trail back to the moon. Their mission, scheduled to launch on Wednesday, could take them farther from Earth than any human has gone before.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
 
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