Artemis 1 on track for early Wednesday morning launch - WESH 2 Orlando

GUYS. STEWART: IT’S A BIG DAY ON OUR SPACE COAST. NASA IS SET TO LAUNCH THE MOST POWERFUL ROCKET EVER BUILT BEGINNING NASA’S LONG JOURNEY TO RETURN TO THE MOON WITH THE ARTEMIS 1 MISSION. THIS AFTERNOON WE HAVE LIVE TEAM COVERAGE AHEAD OF THE LAUNCH WINDOW THAT WILL OPEN JUST AFTER 1:00 A.M. JIM: JUST 30 MINUTES AGO CREWS BEGAN FUELING THE MASSIVE SLS ROCKET STACK OUT AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. IT’S BEEN A LONG JOURNEY TO GET TO THIS POINT, AFTER SEVERAL PROBLEMS WERE DISCOVERED ALONG THE WAY. SUMMER: NOW NASA SAYS ARTEMIS 1 IS READY. STEW WALK US THROUGH WHAT NASA CREWS ARE FOCUSING ON TONIGHT. >> WE ARE ABOUT NINE HOURS AWAY FROM THE NEXT LAUNCH WINDOW OPENING OF THE ARTEMIS ONE SLS ROCKET LAUNCH. >> I SAY NEXT LAUNCH WINDOW, BECAUSE YOU AT HOME KNOW LIKE WE DO THIS IS THE THIRD TIME NASA HAS ATTEMPTED TO GET THE MISSION OFF THE GROUND. AT THE EIGHT HOUR MARK THEY WILL START FUELING UP THE TANKS OF THE CORE STAGE. THEY WILL DO SOME ENGINE BLEEDS AND OTHER FUELING AND THAT WILL BE CRUCIAL. AS YOU KNOW, TWO OF THE SCRUBS WERE BLAMED ON FUEL LEAKS. IT’S THOSE LEAKS THAT FORCED THE SLS ROCKET INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING FOR FURTHER REPAIRS. REMINDER TODAY’S MISSION IS ALL ABOUT LEARNING MORE ABOUT THIS LAUNCH, AHEAD OF SENDING PEOPLE ON THE NEXT ONE, AND THEN LANDING ON THE MOON ON THE THIRD OF THE ARTEMIS CYCLES. AND WHILE SCIENTISTS KNOW MOST AROUND CENTRAL FLORIDA HOPED IT WOULDN’T BE AT ONE IN THE -- 1:00 IN THE MORNING, THEIR TEAMS ARE PREPARED TO GATHER KNOWLEDGE ABOUT TONIGHT’S LAUNCH AS IT TAKES OFF. >> WE HAVE SAID WE PREFER A DAYLIGHT LAUNCH, BUT WE HAVE SAID WE ARE OK WITH A NIGHTTIME LAUNCH. THE DAYTIME LAUNCH GIVES US MORE IMAGERY, BUT THE IMAGERY WE HAVE ON A NIGHTTIME LAUNCH IS SUFFICIENT FOR US TO DO AN ENGINEERING ASSESSMENT THAT WE WILL HAVE TO DO FOR THE VEHICLE FOR FUTURE MISSIONS. ANOTHER BIG ISSUE WE ARE ALWAYS CONCERNED ABOUT HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA THE WEATHER. >> IT PLAYED A PART IN THE SECOND SCRUB WHEN CLOUDS MOVED IN AFTER A DELAY. METEOROLOGIST ERIC BURRIS IS JOINING OUR TEAM COVERAGE OF THIS HISTORIC LAUNCH WITH A CHECK OUR FORECAST. HOW ARE WE LOOKING FOR TONIGHT? WHAT ARE THE IDEAL CONDITIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH? >> THE IDEAL CONDITION WOULD BE CLEAR SKY. TODAY, AS THESE CLOUDS MOVED IN, THEY WENT FROM A 90% CHANCE OF GOOD WEATHER FOR LUNCH TO AN 80% CHANCE OF GOOD WEATHER. STILL OPTIMAL, BUT THE CONCERN IS THAT THICK CLOUD RULE. TAKE A LOOK AT 39 B, KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, AND YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE A FRONT ROW SEAT. THOSE CLOUDS ARE A SUBTLE CONCERN. THEY WILL BE LOOKING FOR NOT ONLY HELP THINK THEY ARE BUT AT WHAT LEVEL OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND WHAT TEMPERATURE ARE THE MOISTER PARTICLES IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND HOW LONG DOES THE ROCKET HAVE UNTIL IT HITS THE DECK OF CLOUDS BEFORE ESCAPING OUT, LEAVING THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE? ALL THESE THINGS ARE BEING CALCULATED. HERE WE ARE JUST AFTER FOUR CUT, WE HAVE SEVERAL -- 4:00 P.M., WE HAVE SEVERAL HOURS TO GO FOR LUNCH. THE BREEDS IS ABOUT 10 MILES PER HOUR, GUSTING TO 20 AT THE TOP OF THE ROCKET, WELL WITHIN CONSTRAINTS. WE ARE LOOKING AT 35 TO 45 MILES PER HOUR FOR BAD WEATHER. ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, THERE ARE A FEW SHOWERS. WE ARE TRACKING THE CLOUDS. EVERYTHING IS LOOKING GOOD WEATHER WISE FOR AN ON-TIME DEPARTURE. LET’S HOPE THAT WE SEE SOME HISTORY MADE. WE WILL MONITOR THINGS AND BRING IN THE DATA FROM THE WEATHER LAB WHEN ICU COMING UP LATER ON, BUT FOR NOW, THAT IS THE LATEST FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. BACK TO YOU. >> THANKS. LOT OF PEOPLE ARE EXCITED FOR -- A LOT OF PEOPLE EXCITED ABOUT THIS LAUNCH, NOT JUST HERE IN FLORIDA, BUT THE SPACE COAST, AS ITS CONSIDERED TO BE A BIG BOOM FOR BUSINESS. THE PRESIDENT OF THE TITUSVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SAYS ROCKET LAUNCHES LIKE THESE GIVES A SHOT IN THE ARM FOR LOCAL BUSINESES AND SHE’S LOOKING FORWARD TO BOOST ITS GOING TO GIVE THE LOCAL ECONOMY. >> IT BRINGS A DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC OF PEOPLE TO TOWN FOR THESE LAUNCHES THAT WE HAVEN’T SEEN SINCE SPACE SHUTTLE DAYS. >> ALL RIGHT, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE CAMPED OUT, WAITING FOR THIS. CITY OFFICIALS ARE WARNING PEOPLE TO BE PATIENT AND TRAFFIC AND JETTY PART IS CURRENTLY CLOSE BECAUSE OF DAMAGE FROM HURRICANE IAN AND HURRICANE NICOLE. WE ARE MONITORING THE LATEST SITUATION. YOU CAN SEE THE ROCKET NOW. 1:04 A.M. IS WHEN THE LAUNCH WINDOW OPENS, A TWO HOUR WINDOW. WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED IF THERE ARE LEAKS OR ISSUES THAT COULD DELAY THIS MISSION ONCE AGAIN AND WE WILL HAVE FIVE TEAM COVERAGE THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT, 4:00 T