Watching the Artemis II Launch From JPL’s Space Flight Operations Facility

Staff at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California watch the launch of the agency’s Artemis II mission to the Moon on April 1, 2026, at the Space Flight Operations Facility, which operates the Deep Space Network (DSN). Soon after launch, the Artemis II crew communicated with the Near Space Network while they were close to Earth. Later, communications were handed off to the DSN as the Orion capsule continued its journey into deep space.

The DSN comprises three complexes in Goldstone, California; Madrid, Spain; and Canberra, Australia. Each complex has several radio frequency antennas that communicate with dozens of spacecraft exploring the solar system in addition to the Artemis II mission.

The DSN is managed by JPL for the agency’s Space Communications and Navigation program, which is located at NASA Headquarters within the Space Operations Mission Directorate. The DSN allows missions to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from faraway spacecraft. JPL is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, for NASA.

For more information about Artemis II, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/