Hurricane Ian Pushes NASA’s Next Moon Rocket Launch Attempt to November

At first it was technical hurdles, however now a pure catastrophe has compelled a delay to NASA’s Artemis 1 mission. With the rocket tucked contained in the house company’s gigantic meeting constructing and with regular floor operations set to renew this week, Space Launch System received’t take flight till November 12 on the earliest.

Hurricane Ian laid waste to a lot of Florida final week, ensuing within the lack of life, widespread energy outages, and property injury on an unfathomable scale. After hemming and hawing over whether or not to shelter the 321-foot-tall (98-meter) rocket from the storm, NASA lastly determined to roll SLS again to the Vehicle Assembly Building with simply hours to spare.

Frighteningly, Kennedy Space Center took a direct hit from the hurricane, with the power entering into HURCON I status at 6:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday. A portmanteau for “hurricane condition,” HURCON is an alert scale that triggers particular actions for an incoming hurricane. HURCON I, the very best attainable standing, will get triggered 12 hours previous to the arrival of 58 mile-per-hour (93 kilometer-per-hour) sustained winds. During HURCON I, Kennedy Space Center is closed, all perimeter gates are closed, and the Rideout Team (ROT) takes shelter at designated places (non-ROT personnel are launched throughout HURCON II).

Thankfully, the power emerged unscathed. “There was no damage to Artemis flight hardware, and facilities are in good shape with only minor water intrusion identified in a few locations,” NASA wrote in a press release. The subsequent step shall be for floor groups to increase the entry platforms across the rocket and the Orion spacecraft to permit for extra inspections and upkeep duties, which is able to embody the retesting and resetting of the rocket’s flight termination system.

At a briefing held on September 27, Jim Free, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development, wouldn’t rule out the potential for launching SLS in October, however he warned that it might be “difficult” on condition that it was already late within the month and that the hurricane was more likely to disrupt preparations. A launch interval existed from October 17 to 31, however NASA has now formally dominated this out, saying its third launch try of SLS received’t occur till November.

“Focusing efforts on the November launch period allows time for employees at Kennedy to address the needs of their families and homes after the storm and for teams to identify additional checkouts needed before returning to the pad for launch,” in response to NASA.

The Artemis 1 mission is an try and ship an uncrewed Orion capsule on a journey to the Moon and again. It will set the stage for extra bold missions as NASA seeks a sustained return to the Moon.

After scrubs on August 29 and September 3 (each resulting from technical points), and having carried out a profitable tanking take a look at on September 21, NASA had focused a 3rd launch try on September 27. The pending arrival of Hurricane Ian compelled a postponement and a rollback to the VAB, with the rocket reaching the cavernous storage on September 27 at 9:15 a.m. ET. Some 33 hours later, HURCON I used to be declared at Kennedy.

NASA says it can announce a selected launch date within the coming days, nevertheless it’s more likely to fall inside a launch interval that runs from November 12 and 27, with no alternatives on November 20, 21, or 26. Failing this, NASA may attempt once more throughout a launch interval that runs from December 9 to 23.