Hurricane Ian has battered the U.S. Atlantic coast this week, inflicting widespread destruction and killing not less than 30 individuals. As Ian approached the Florida coast NASA made the choice to roll its House Launch System rocket off the launch pad on the Kennedy House Heart in Florida and again inside its constructing. With the hurricane having moved previous Florida, NASA has now confirmed that the rocket was not broken and has set a brand new date for the subsequent launch try.
The House Launch System (SLS) rocket, together with the Orion spacecraft, had been scheduled for a 3rd try at a launch on Tuesday, September 27. The launch could be for the Artemis I mission, an uncrewed mission across the moon to check {hardware} and procedures forward of a deliberate crewed mission to the moon. However as Ian approached over final weekend, NASA canceled the launch try and determined it was too dangerous to go away the rocket out on the launch pad. It was rolled again to the Car Meeting Constructing (VAB) a couple of miles from the pad the place it might be safely saved till the storm handed.
In an replace, NASA confirmed that the rocket was in good situation and had not suffered any harm. “There was no harm to Artemis flight {hardware}, and amenities are in fine condition with solely minor water intrusion recognized in a couple of areas,” NASA wrote. “Subsequent, engineers will lengthen entry platforms across the House Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft contained in the Car Meeting Constructing (VAB) to organize for added inspections and begin making ready for the subsequent launch try, together with retesting the flight termination system.”
The following window for a attainable launch try is between November 12 and November 27, with a particular date for the launch introduced as soon as the scenario has been additional assessed. NASA says that is to permit time for the employees at Kennedy to take care of the fast results of the hurricane, writing, “Focusing efforts on the November launch interval permits time for workers at Kennedy to deal with the wants of their households and houses after the storm and for groups to determine extra checkouts wanted earlier than returning to the pad for launch.”
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