NASA’s moon rocket returned to the protection of its hangar Tuesday as Hurricane Ian approached Florida, its launch now unlikely earlier than mid-November.
As a substitute of attempting to ship it on its first take a look at flight, the launch staff moved the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket off the pad at Kennedy House Heart. The four-mile (6.4-kilometer) journey took all evening.
NASA official Jim Free stated it might be troublesome to improve the rocket and get it again to the pad for an October launch try. Placing in contemporary batteries is especially difficult, Free famous, making it uncertain a launch could possibly be tried earlier than the mid-to-late October launch interval closes. The subsequent two-week window would open Nov. 12.
The House Launch System rocket ought to have blasted off a month in the past, however was delayed twice by gas leaks and engine points.
As soon as in space, the crew capsule atop the rocket will purpose for lunar orbit with three take a look at dummies, an important costume rehearsal earlier than astronauts climb aboard in 2024. The final time a capsule flew to the moon was throughout NASA’s Apollo 17 lunar touchdown in 1972.
SpaceX’s subsequent astronaut flight to the Worldwide House Station for NASA, in the meantime, has been delayed at the very least one day by the hurricane. Liftoff is now no sooner than subsequent Tuesday.
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The NASA moon rocket slated for the Artemis mission to the moon rolls again to the Automobile Meeting Constructing on the Kennedy House Heart Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of the rocket was postponed because of the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian. Credit score: AP Photograph/John Raoux
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The NASA moon rocket slated for the Artemis mission to the moon rolls again to the Automobile Meeting Constructing on the Kennedy House Heart Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of the rocket was postponed because of the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian. Credit score: AP Photograph/John Raoux
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The NASA moon rocket slated for the Artemis mission to the moon rolls again to the Automobile Meeting Constructing on the Kennedy House Heart Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of the rocket was postponed because of the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian. Credit score: AP Photograph/John Raoux
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The NASA moon rocket slated for the Artemis mission to the moon rolls again to the Automobile Meeting Constructing on the Kennedy House Heart Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of the rocket was postponed because of the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian. Credit score: AP Photograph/John Raoux
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The NASA moon rocket slated for the Artemis mission to the moon rolls again to the Automobile Meeting Constructing on the Kennedy House Heart Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of the rocket was postponed because of the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian. Credit score: AP Photograph/John Raoux
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NASA moon rocket again in hangar, launch unlikely till November (2022, September 27)
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