NASA is pressing ahead toward another attempt to launch the Artemis 1 moon rocket on its leak-delayed maiden flight, while closely monitoring the track of an expected hurricane that threatens to bring high winds and heavy rain to the Florida Space Coast.
NASA is pressing ahead toward another attempt to launch the Artemis 1 moon rocket on its leak-delayed maiden flight Tuesday while closely monitoring the track of an expected hurricane that threatens to bring high winds and heavy rain to the Florida Space Coast, officials said Friday. — Tropical Storm Ian — is now strengthening over the Caribbean and could approach Florida as major hurricane.
The Space Launch System rocket atop pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center Friday afternoon. NASA engineers say the rocket can withstand gusts of hurricane-force winds at the launch pad, but hopeful a threatening storm will spare the spaceport. Even so, the forecast for a launch opportunity Tuesday is 80 percent no-go. / Credit: NASA
"Early next week, Ian is forecast to move near or over western Cuba as a strengthening hurricane and then approach the Florida peninsula at or near major hurricane strength, with the potential for significant impacts from storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and heavy rainfall," the National Hurricane Center said Saturday.
"If we were to plan B, we need a couple days to pivot from our current tanking test, or launch, configuration to execute a rollback and get back into the protection of VAB," Bolger added. Tom Whitmeyer, a senior manager at NASA Headquarters, downplayed weather concerns Friday, telling reporters,"it's not even a named storm, it's a tropical depression, number nine. It's very early in it, and some of the traces we've seen go to different directions and go with different speeds and different intensity."
But two attempts in a row were called off because of more hydrogen issues. That prompted launch pad repairs to replace a suspect seal in an 8-inch hydrogen quick-disconnect fitting that leaked earlier.
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