NASA pulled out the 322-foot-tall Artemis 1's Space Launch System rocket after postponing this week's eagerly anticipated launch of the Artemis I. The agency won't try again to launch the spacecraft until at least mid-October as a strong hurricane approaches Florida.
Hurricane Ian, which is presently pummeling Cuba and is expected to make landfall on Florida's west coast on Wednesday, was moving a $4.1 billion rocket from the launch pad back to its storage hangar on Monday, according to UPI.
Hurricane Ian Scrubs NASA's Most Awaited Artemis I SLS Rocket Launch
Due to the most recent Hurricane Ian forecast, which puts Florida's Space Coast in the cone of uncertainty, Artemis 1 management revealed intentions on Monday to roll back the SLS to the VAB.
Fox Weather said the crawler used to move the massive rocket initially moved at 11 p.m. ET on Monday. By Tuesday morning, the SLS was back inside the VAB well ahead of Hurricane Ian.
The moon rocket was upright at Florida's east coast's Kennedy Space Center launchpad 39B until the 4-mile trip back to the hangar.
The Kennedy Space Center region's projected circumstances for improvement were not indicated by fresh data collected overnight, so NASA engineers postponed making a final decision on rollback until Monday.
"The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families and protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system," said NASA in a blog post.
"The time of first motion also is based on the best predicted conditions for rollback to meet weather criteria for the move," added the space agency.
The National Hurricane Center, U.S. Space Force, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's most recent statistics were taken into account by NASA to make a well-informed choice.
Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, assistant administrator for science at NASA, said the space agency had prioritized the mission and the mission's crew members who may be affected by Hurricane Ian.
Prior to Ian's arrival, the Kennedy Space Center went into HURCON III condition. In the next 48 hours, at least 50 knots of winds are predicted. Teams from KSC are securing buildings, securing equipment, and briefing a ride-out crew for the storm.
This will be NASA's moon rocket's third attempt to launch when the SLS lifts off.
Previous Technical Problems
However, several problems at the launch pad during the countdown led NASA to abandon two launch attempts, Orlando Sentinel mentioned. Following the most recent scrub on Sept. 3, teams had already completed repairs to the pad and were preparing for a launch attempt today when Hurricane Ian's danger arrived. Teams eliminated the Sept. 27 window from consideration before making the final decision to secure the hardware, eliminating the one remaining option during this launch window, Oct. 2.
However, suppose NASA decides to roll back to the VAB. In that case, it will be able to handle some battery recharging tasks, including those for the flight termination system and some of the rideshare CubeSats that will be launched when it travels to the moon.
The following launch windows are October 17-31, November 12-27, and December 9-23. Only a few days in each window have the Earth and moon properly aligned for the intended mission.
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