The launch control team at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will oversee the final preparations and kickoff of Artemis II, a mission that aims to send four astronauts farther than humans have ever before traveled from Earth to perform the first crewed spaceflight around the moon in 50 years. Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, launch director of NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems program, will lead the liftoff of the first human mission of the Artemis program. She will be overseeing the official countdown starting 49 hours and 15 minutes before launch from Firing Room 1 on Merritt Island, Florida. Blackwell-Thompson also leads a team that manages propellant loading and follows launch commit criteria, a detailed set of rules that determine if the launch can proceed or fall down. The team practices handover practices so often that it often feels like a simulation.