Hurricane threat prompts NASA to delay next launch attempt of moon rocket | Tech News

Hurricane threat prompts NASA to delay next launch attempt of moon rocket

NASA will batten down its big new moon rocket on the launch pad to ride out a hurricane expected to hit near Cape Canaveral, Florida.

By:REUTERS
| Updated on: Nov 09 2022, 19:20 IST
In Pics: NASA set to return to the Moon with the Artemis 1 Mission
NASA
1/5 According to NASA, Artemis I will be the first uncrewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft. The Orion capsule will carry various objects like Snoopy dog toy which will fly as a zero-gravity indicator in the capsule. A new version of Alexa called Callisto created by Lockheed Martin, Amazon, and Cisco will also be aboard the spacecraft. (REUTERS)
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2/5 The Artemis Programme is NASA’s first attempt to send a manned mission to the Moon since the Apollo missions in 1972. Earlier this month, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said, “To all of us that gaze up at the Moon, dreaming of the day humankind returns to the lunar surface, folks, we're here. We are going back.” (REUTERS)
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3/5 The rocket and the Orion spacecraft have already been rolled out onto the launchpad on August 16. Although the rollout was scheduled to happen today on August 18, NASA moved up the plans and rolled out the Orion spacecraft on top of NASA’s brand-new Space Launcher System. (REUTERS)
NASA
4/5 When NASA launches the Artemis 1 mission using the Space Launcher System on August 29, the Orion spacecraft, although unmanned, will carry 3 manikins called Zohar, Helga and Campos to space as human stand-ins for various tests and studies. They will be retrofitted with a vast number of sensors to conduct tests regarding the spaceflight. (NASA)
NASA
5/5 ason Hutt, NASA lead for Orion Crew Systems Integration said, “It’s critical for us to get data from the Artemis I manikin to ensure all of the newly designed systems, coupled with an energy dampening system that the seats are mounted on, integrate together and provide the protection crew members will need in preparation for our first crewed mission on Artemis II.” (NASA)
NASA
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NASA has already scrubbed the launch of its Artemis mission a few times due to issues arising with the rocket. (AP)

NASA will batten down its big new moon rocket on the launch pad to ride out a hurricane expected to hit near Cape Canaveral, Florida, and its targeted liftoff time next week has been postponed by two days, the U.S. space agency said on Monday.

Kennedy Space Center lies near the middle of a 240-mile stretch of Florida's Atlantic shore, where forecasters say Tropical Storm Nicole is most likely to strike Wednesday night or early Thursday as a category 1 hurricane.

As of Tuesday night, Nicole was packing maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour (100 kph) and gaining force as it headed for the northern Bahamas en route to Florida, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported.

A category 1 hurricane has top sustained winds of 74-95 mph (119-153 kph).

NASA's next-generation rocket, standing 32 stories tall, was rolled out to its launch pad last week for what would be a third attempt to get it off the ground for its inaugural, uncrewed flight to the moon and back.

The flight, marking the first mission of NASA's ambitious new Artemis lunar exploration program, had been set for liftoff next Monday.

Nicole's approach prompted NASA to delay that launch window by at least two days, to Wednesday, Nov. 16, giving workers extra time to tend to families and homes before the storm and to ready the rocket for flight afterward.

NASA said it would keep the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule moored to the launch pad through the storm rather than try to roll the spacecraft back to its hangar - a nearly 12-hour undertaking that entails additional risks.

If the giant tractor crawler used to transport the rocket to and from its hangar were to break down, the spacecraft could be left more vulnerable, said Mark Burger, a launch weather officer for the Cape's U.S. Space Force Station.

"It could be many hours of sitting out on the crawlerway exposed to the forces from the wind, and that would be the absolutely worst scenario," Burger told Reuters.

The rocket was built to withstand exposure to heavy rains and winds as high as 85 mph, at the upper limit forecast at the Cape, NASA said.

In preparation for the storm, teams powered down the spacecraft's systems and took measures to secure the rocket and other equipment at the site. A "ride-out" team was assigned to stay at the complex and monitor conditions during the storm.

Two previous Artemis I launch attempts on Aug. 29 and Sept. 3 were aborted because of technical problems, and the rocket was moved back to its hangar because of Hurricane Ian.

If Artemis I gets off the ground on Nov. 16, during a two-hour launch window that opens at 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT), the Orion capsule would return to Earth for splashdown on Dec. 11, NASA said. A backup launch date was set for Nov. 19.

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First Published Date: 09 Nov, 19:20 IST
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