The launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which represents the start of the long-awaited NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, failed to take place on September 27 due to Hurricane Ian. And now it has been announced that the launch has been postponed to mid-November. According to the statement made by the space agency, the Artemis 1 launch is scheduled for a date between November 12 and November 27.
While there was initially a small chance that NASA’s next launch attempt would take place in October, NASA had decided to return the rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to protect it from the storm. So that chance was over. NASA has successfully secured the rocket after hours of transport to the VAB.
Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, but turned into a tropical storm when it reached Kennedy Space Center last Thursday. NASA said there was “no damage to Artemis flight hardware” and that its facilities were subject to only “a minor water leak”.
NASA’s Artemis I launch will send an uncrewed Orion capsule on a journey around the Moon, paving the way for future missions that will carry the first woman and human of color to the lunar surface. The agency’s first launch attempt was soon canceled after leaking problems with the rocket, while the second was halted by a “major” leak after engineers filled the rocket with cooled liquid hydrogen fuel.
Subsequent tests on the rocket’s fueling system showed that the leak was still present, but at a more “manageable” level. Now that the rocket is back in the VAB, NASA says it will “prepare for additional investigations” and retest the Flight Termination System the Space Force used to destroy the rocket if it deviates.
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