NASA hid SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft from hurricane - Artemis 1 mission postponed for at least three weeks

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has decided not to launch the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket scheduled for the next weekend.

Here's What We Know

The agency is removing the rocket with the Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building hangar for the third time. NASA decided not to mess around with the approaching Hurricane Ian and sent the SLS into the assembly building. In motion, the rocket can withstand wind speeds of up to 74 km/h, so the journey to the hangar will take about 11 hours. This means that the launch will not take place on October 2, although everything was already ready for the launch. Earlier there was a chance that the SLS and Orion will still remain at the site, but it was reported that the wind strength is critical for spacecraft.

NASA has sent SLS to the assembly shop twice this year, in mid-spring and early summer. This was due to malfunctions of the fuel supply assemblies in the tanks. The malfunction, which caused liquid hydrogen to leak before the August launch, was fixed right on the pad. The successful work of specialists allowed the launch to take place on September 27 or October 2. To do this, the U.S. Space Force has even prolonged the permission, which expired in mid-September.

So far, NASA has not commented on the new launch date of the lunar mission Artemis 1. Previously, a backup window was announced from October 17 to October 31. The Space Force took the unprecedented step of extending the SLS certification by more than 50 days. This means that if there are no problems during the relocation of the rocket, the launch can still take place within the October backup window.

Source: NASA

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