KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — Vice President Kamala Harris met with U.S. and European space officials, talked with astronauts, inspected future moon spaceships and encouraged children to consider space exploration careers during a busy Monday at Kennedy Space Center.
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About the only thing Harris didn’t do was watch Artemis I blast off, as its first launch attempt was scrubbed due to an engine issue shortly after the vice president arrived.
“While we hoped to see the launch of Artemis I today, the attempt provided valuable data as we test the most powerful rocket in history,” Harris said. “Our commitment to the Artemis Program remains firm, and we will return to the moon.”
Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff arrived just after 8 a.m. on Air Force Two, landing on the former space shuttle runway at KSC. They were greeted by a number of NASA leaders including administrator Bill Nelson.
“She and I had a good visit,” Nelson said. “She’s very happy to be here. She is an enthusiastic space booster, as is President Biden. So this, this whole thing will make our country proud.”
While Artemis I remained grounded on launch pad 39-B, Harris viewed components for the Artemis II and Artemis III missions with NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy and KSC director Janet Petro. The group was briefed by NASA staff and Lockheed Martin contractors and subcontractors.
She also met with European Space Agency director general Josef Aschbacher in front of the European Service Module for Artemis II, which will send a crew of four on a lunar flyby mission sometime in 2024. Harris thanked Aschbacher for ESA’s work and collaboration.
Harris then greeted NASA astronauts Shannon Walker and Joe Acabá in front of the structure for the Artemis III Orion capsule. As soon as 2025, the capsule will carry humans back to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, bringing the first woman and first person of color to the lunar surface.
Harris, a trailblazer herself as the first woman and person of color vice president, signed a piece of the Artemis III Orion.
After meeting with current astronauts, Harris turned her focus to future ones. “Hey kids, don’t you want to be astronauts,” she asked a group of students visiting KSC. Focused on the next generation of space explorers, Harris discussed the importance of the scientific method and hypotheses.
If only one of the kids – or the adults – knew how to quickly fix a glitchy engine, it would have been a perfect visit for the veep.
Pool reporter Michael Greshko of National Geographic contributed to this report.
