As Artemis II zooms to the Moon, everything seems to be going swimmingly

As Artemis II rockets toward the Moon, flawless execution offers a rare moment of unguarded optimism in a program often shadowed by delays. With the Orion capsule traveling at 24,500 mph and all systems nominal, this mission marks the first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years—a 93% success rate across preflight checks has kept the schedule on track. This smooth performance is faster than the typical rival crewed space milestones; for instance, it already surpasses the Artemis I timeline by 14 days. The team's precision stands in stark contrast to #7's chaotic IPO theater, proving that when politics take a backseat, engineering excellence prevails.