Artemis II Flight Update: Perigee Raise Burn Complete

Editor’s Note: This blog has been updated with timing on the translunar injection burn.

The perigee raise burn is complete, marking another planned orbital adjustment in the early hours of the Artemis II mission.

After a brief rest period, the crew was awakened to monitor the Orion spacecraft’s systems through the burn. The ground team woke them at 7:06 a.m. EDT with the song “Sleepyhead” by Young and Sick.

The spacecraft ignited its service module’s main engine for 43 seconds, raising the lowest point of its orbit and refining the trajectory as it continues to circle Earth. This critical burn placed Orion, named Integrity by the Artemis II crew, into a stable high Earth orbit that aligns with its path to the Moon. The crew members will now move back into their rest period for another four and a half hours before they are again awakened to start their first full day in space.

Later today, the mission management team will gather for its first meeting of the mission to assess the spacecraft’s systems and will give their approval for the upcoming translunar injection burn that will send astronauts out of Earth orbit and toward the Moon for the first time since 1972.

Pending the mission management team’s approval, the translunar injection burn is scheduled for 7:49 p.m. EDT and will last for five minutes and 49 seconds, producing a change in velocity of 1,274 feet per second, sending humans out of low Earth orbit.

Flight controllers will closely monitor engine performance, guidance, and navigation data throughout the maneuver to ensure Orion remains precisely aligned for the outbound journey.