Monday, March 25, 2024
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NASA’s next-generation Space Launch System (SLS) rocket remains to be on the bottom.

It’s secured contained in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to maintain it protected from Hurricane Ian, which at this second is battering the state with robust winds and torrential rain.

The 98-meter-tall SLS rocket, whose first flight will mark the beginning of a brand new period of house exploration, was presupposed to launch on the finish of August, however a technical hitch with one of many core stage’s engines compelled an abort about 70 minutes earlier than lift-off.

With the engine concern fastened, NASA tried once more in early September, however a liquid hydrogen leak once more prompted engineers to halt that launch effort, too.

NASA selected to kind out the problems with the rocket nonetheless on the launchpad, preferring to not haul it 4 miles to the VAB until it was actually needed.

But then alongside got here Hurricane Ian, making that removing actually needed. So on Monday evening out got here NASA’s crawler car to move the SLS rocket again to the VAB.

“As part of NASA’s hurricane preparedness protocol, a ‘ride out’ team will remain in a safe location at Kennedy throughout the storm to monitor center-wide conditions,” NASA mentioned in a put up on its web site on Wednesday. “After the storm passes, they will conduct an assessment of facilities, property, and equipment. Once it is safe for additional employees to return to Kennedy, engineers will extend platforms to establish access to the rocket and spacecraft.”

It added: “Managers will review options on the extent of work that will be conducted in the VAB before returning to the launch pad or identifying the next opportunity for launch. Technicians will swap out batteries on the rocket’s flight termination system and retest the system prior to the next launch attempt.”

NASA had earlier introduced Sunday, October 2, as a attainable launch date, however the disruption brought on by Hurricane Ian implies that that window of alternative is nearly sure to go by with none exercise.

When it lastly will get underway, the Artemis I mission will propel an uncrewed Orion spacecraft towards the moon, the place it would carry out a fly-by earlier than returning to Earth six weeks after launch.

A profitable mission will pave the best way for a crewed Artemis II flight taking the identical route, whereas Artemis III, which may happen as early as 2025, will endeavor to place the primary girl and first individual of shade on the lunar floor.

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