Hurricane Ian made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a harmful Class 4 storm on Wednesday as NASA watched stay from orbit.
NASA cameras on the International Space Station confirmed stay views Hurricane Ian because the storm reached the Florida coast Wednesday (Sept. 28), coming ashore close to Cayo Costa, in keeping with the Nationwide Hurricane Middle.
“Hurricane Ian has made landfall as an especially harmful hurricane close to Cayo Costa, Florida with most sustained winds at 150 mph,” NHC officials wrote (opens in new tab) in an replace on Twitter at 3:05 p.m. EDT (1905 GMT).
NASA went stay with its views of Hurricane Ian from the space station simply minutes earlier than the NHC report. The video stream confirmed glimpses of the hurricane from an altitude of about 250 miles (400 kilometers) because the station soared by at 17,500 mph (28,000 kph).
Associated: Monstrous Hurricane Ian threatens ‘catastrophic’ devastation in Florida
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Astronauts on the space station have additionally been monitoring Hurricane Ian. They captured beautiful views of the storm on Monday (Sept. 26) because the storm was simply south of Cuba because it headed for Florida. NASA released the images (opens in new tab) on Wednesday night.
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As of two p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) Wednesday, Hurricane Ian was shifting towards the north-northeast at about 9 mph (15 kph) and was anticipated to make a flip to the northeast on Thursday, in keeping with the NHC.
“On the forecast observe, the middle of Ian is anticipated to maneuver onshore quickly, transfer over central Florida tonight and Thursday morning and emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday,” they wrote in a day update (opens in new tab). “Ian is forecast to show northward on Friday and strategy the northeastern Florida coast along with the Georgia and South Carolina coasts late Friday.”
Within the days earlier than Hurricane Ian’s landfall, Florida state officers ordered evacuations for residents alongside coastal areas within the storm’s path. NASA additionally postponed plans to launch its Artemis 1 mission to the moon on the primary Space Launch System rocket, opting as a substitute to maneuver the huge, 322-foot-tall (98 meters) rocket into the shelter of its hangar on the Kennedy Area Middle in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
NASA and SpaceX also delayed the launch of a brand new crew to the Worldwide Area Station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. That mission, which is able to carry two American astronauts, a Japanese astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut, is now scheduled to carry off from Pad 39A on the Kennedy Space Center no sooner than Oct. 4, a one-day slip.
A restricted “ride-out” crew is staffing the Kennedy Area Middle to make sure the protection of NASA’s spacecraft {hardware} and programs. On the close by Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the U.S. Space Force additionally took precautions to safeguard the station for the arrival of Hurricane Ian, which ought to attain the 2 spaceports by Thursday.
“As Hurricane Ian intensifies and people put together for its influence, I am pondering of our NASA workforce and households in Florida, particularly these on the NASA Kennedy ride-out group,” NASA chief Invoice Nelson wrote on Twitter (opens in new tab) Wednesday afternoon. “Thanks in your dedication. Know that NASA will do all the pieces to make sure your security and wellbeing.”
E mail Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com (opens in new tab) or observe him @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Comply with us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).
