Artemis l moon rocket to be launched from Kennedy Space Center on Monday, VP Kamala Harris to attend the launch
According to a White House statement, Vice President Kamala Harris plans to attend the Monday launch of the Artemis I moon rocket from Kennedy Space Center.
Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will be present for the 8:33 a.m. to 8:43 a.m. two-hour launch window, with Harris providing comments. Harris chairs the National Space Council, which advises President Biden on space policy.
In addition, she will tour the Kennedy Space Center to view some of the hardware on hand for the Artemis II and III missions, which are expected to return humans to lunar orbit in 2024 and return humans, including the first woman, to the lunar surface in 2025 for the first time since the last Apollo landing nearly fifty years ago.
Two astronauts from the Apollo program are also anticipated to be there, including one of the final men to walk on the moon, Harrison Schmitt, who departed the lunar surface on Apollo 17 on December 14, 1972. Thomas Stafford, the Apollo 10 astronaut, will also be present. The Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham had intended to attend, but NASA authorities have informed us that he is unable to do so.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and other officials will be present at KSC, but the identities of any celebrities who may attend have not been disclosed.
The launch will be streamed live on NASA’s social media platforms and on NASA TV. It will feature celebrity appearances by Jack Black, Chris Evans, and Keke Palmer, as well as performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” by Josh Grobin and Herbie Hancock and the Philadelphia Orchestra with cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
