NASA plans to launch its new moon rocket, Artemis I, on Wednesday after months of delays.
Artemis I, a monthslong, $4 billion mission, has been grounded since August and delayed four times due to fuel leaks and tropical storms Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole.
With the arrival of Nicole, mission manager Mike Sarafin told the Associated Press that the storm’s high winds caused a 10-foot section of caulking to peel away in small pieces near the top rocket’s crew capsule.
However, scientists determined that overall, the storm provided little extra risk to the test flight, so the launch will continue as scheduled.
ARTEMIS I LAUNCH POSTPONED YET AGAIN TO SECOND TROPICAL STORM
Artemis I will launch at 1:04 a.m. EST from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, with test dummies rather than astronauts on board.
Sarafin said there is a slight chance more caulking comes off during liftoff, with the most likely place being a large and robust area of the rocket that will result in minimal damage.
#Artemis I is launching to the Moon!
Nov. 15:
3:30pm ET (2030 UTC): Tanking coverage
10:30pm ET (0330 UTC): Launch broadcastNov. 16:
8:30am ET (1330 UTC): Trajectory burn
10am ET (1500 UTC): Earth views from @NASA_OrionStay tuned: https://t.co/sQWu67xTPq pic.twitter.com/srAEMfTQ63
— NASA (@NASA) November 14, 2022
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Artemis I is supposed to be “the first flight test of the integrated Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket,” according to NASA’s website, and the unmanned rocket “will fly 40,000 miles beyond the Moon and back, demonstrating our capability to send humans to lunar orbit on the second flight test.”
The last visit to the moon by astronauts was in December 1972 with the closing of the Apollo mission. NASA plans to send astronauts around the moon in 2024 and have a crew land on the moon in 2025.
