The ISS crew were positioned over the Northern Pacific Ocean at the exact moment of ignition, preventing a direct view of the fireball.

As the world watched from the ground, the onlookers had a truly unique vantage point for yesterday’s historic Artemis II launch. The seven residents of the International Space Station (ISS) joined the global audience in cheering on their colleagues as they embarked on the first crewed mission to the Moon in over half a century. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket roared to life at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2026, carrying NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen. While the ISS crew was positioned over the Northern Pacific Ocean at the exact moment of ignition, preventing a direct view of the fireball, they didn't miss a second of the action, tuning in via NASA TV to watch the Integrity Orion capsule blast off from Launch Complex 39B. Advertisement A Glimpse of History As the space station’s orbital path brought it within a few hundred kilometres of the Florida coast, the crew was able to peer out the window and see the physical evidence of their friends' journey. "I was able to catch a glimpse of the remnants of the trail the rocket made as it passed through the atmosphere!" one station resident shared on X. Advertisement The lingering exhaust trail provided a rare visual map of the upper atmosphere, with the effects of varying wind speeds clearly visible at different altitudes. Bridging Two Eras The Artemis II mission is a 10-day flight test designed to verify the Orion spacecraft’s life-support and navigation systems in deep space. For the crew currently aboard the ISS, seeing the plume of a moon-bound rocket is a reminder of the transition from long-term Low Earth Orbit operations to the next phase of lunar exploration. While the ISS continues its mission of microgravity research, the Artemis II crew is now in a high Earth orbit, performing critical manual handling tests before their Trans-Lunar Injection burn. If all systems remain go, the Artemis II crew is expected to return for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean around April 11, paving the way for the Artemis III lunar landing scheduled for 2027.

Future spacecraft could use a single propellant to perform both rapid movements and slow, highly controlled adjustments.

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Alphabet entered a cloud service agreement with SpaceX to pay $920 million per month for 200 megawatts of capacity from October 2026 through June 2029.