NASA waited until the last moment to make its decision, because if the rocket had been left outside, an attempt to take off could have been scheduled just after the storm.
Le Monde with AFP
The new NASA rocket mega for the moon will be entered in its hangar in order to be sheltered from a hurricane, said the American space agency Monday, September 26, an operation that repels Sine Die The takeoff of the long -awaited Mission Artémis 1, already several times postponed. NASA officials “met on Monday morning and made this decision based on the last forecasts for Hurricane Ian,” wrote NASA in A blog article .
The 98 -meter rocket, is currently out of its shot in the Kennedy space center, in Florida. The maneuvering complex to return it to the gigantic assembly building, a few kilometers away, should start at 11 p.m. (5 hours in France). The rocket will be transported on a huge platform rolling very slowly, in order to avoid the vibrations that can damage it as much as possible.
after reviewing the forecast for #ian, we will roll our #artemis i vehicle back to the vehicle assembly building to… https://t.co/mr68yz1enb
This is “the right decision” so that the teams and the rocket remain “in safety”, tweeted Jim Free, administrator associated with NASA. Hurricane Ian, currently south of Cuba, should go back during the week to Florida, via the Gulf of Mexico.
No new date communicated
But time will now be missing to bring out the rocket before the end of the current shooting period, which extends until October 4. NASA has not given any indication concerning a future take-off date.
The next possible shooting period extends from October 17 to 31, with the possibility of takeoff per day (except from 24 to 26 and October 28). The next one goes from November 12 to 27 (except 20, 21 and 26). After already two take -off attempts canceled at the last moment a few weeks ago, in particular because of a fuel leak during the filling of the reservoirs of the rocket, this new setback is very unwelcome for NASA.
Fifty years after the last mission of the Apollo program, Artémis 1 must be used to check that the Orion capsule, at the top of the rocket, is sure to transport a crew in the future.