Once again, the launch of the rocket for the Artemis mission has been delayed since NASA. It was originally scheduled for next Tuesday (27). The US space exploration agency announced today (24) that it will have to change its plans due to tropical storm Ian.
The meteorological phenomenon, which yesterday was elevated to the category of tropical storm (23), is advancing across the Caribbean and is expected to gain more strength in the coming days.
According to the US National Hurricane Center, mathematical models predict the storm will evolve into a hurricane and reach Florida, where the Kennedy Space Center is located, in the middle of next week.
To avoid any possible damage to the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, NASA is evaluating the possibility of fixing it in the structure known as the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), making it impossible for launch on Tuesday at the fair.
“At a meeting on Saturday morning, the teams decided to halt launch preparations to allow the system setup to bring the SLS and the Orion spacecraft to the VAB,” the agency said in a statement.
Tropical Storm Ian today (24); forecasters predict that it will turn into a hurricane in the next few days
Image: CIRA / NOAA
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Also according to the text, the engineers must decide whether to “keep” the rocket until tomorrow (25), in order to have one more day to “collect and analyze data” on Ian’s trajectory.
If the vehicle is not stored and remains at the launch point, it would still be possible to start the mission on the reserve date that NASA had already set: October 2. If it is actually brought to the VAB, the logistics are much more complex. There are estimates that the next viable release window would only be in December.
third postponement
Artemis 1 has been ready on the platform since mid-August. NASA had already tried to launch the rocket on August 29 and September 3, but it had technical problems on both dates.
Over the past week, engineers and technicians have worked to repair the fault that occurred in the latest attempt: a leak of liquid hydrogen at the interface between the SLS and the launch tower.
Two gaskets were replaced on this part of the vehicle. A long test on Wednesday (21) showed that the problem had been solved. Everything was fine by the 27th … until Ian arrives.
Humans on the Moon in 2026
Artemis is a set of missions that plan to bring man back to the Moon, to establish a constant human presence on the satellite and to use it as a starting point for further explorations (especially Mars).
This first launch is known as Artemis 1. It is unmanned: it will only serve to send the Orion spacecraft into orbit around the Moon, gather information and return.
If this phase is successful, Artemis 2 is expected to bring astronauts into orbit around the Moon in 2024. Only Artemis 3 will bring humans to lunar soil, probably in 2025 or 2026.
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