NASA’s highly-anticipated return to the moon might be delayed once again, not due to technical issues, but due to tumultuous tropical weather. Tropical Storm Nicole developed over the weekend, and AccuWeather forecasters are warning that it could strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall along Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Artemis I, the first of NASA’s program to return humans to the surface of the moon, is slated to launch on Monday, November 14, but the ominous forecast could disrupt the timeline. AccuWeather reported hurricane warning is in effect for the Kennedy Space Center with the massive moon-bound rocket currently on the launchpad.
NASA announced on Monday that the 322-foot-tall rocket would stay on the launch pad through Nicole rather than rolling the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). It takes at least three days for ground crews to prepare the rocket to start its trip back to the VAB.
On Friday, 11/4, the rocket was transported from the VAB to the launchpad ahead of the anticipated launch next Monday, November 14. The rocket is built to withstand wind gusts up to 85 mph (74.1 knots) at an elevation of 60 feet of the ground. Wind speeds of this magnitude are commonly found near the center of Category 1 hurricanes.
“For days, AccuWeather meteorologists have been highlighting the risk of hurricane-force winds, especially in gusts, to occur near the Kennedy Space Center as Nicole makes landfall early Thursday morning,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. “The risk of hurricane-force wind gusts from Nicole near the Kennedy Space Center has increased even more on Tuesday.”
AccuWeather forecasters say that the risk of a wind gust of 85 mph or greater occurring near the Kennedy Space Center is 60%, or a six in 10 chance. Even if the SLS rocket is not damaged during Nicole, the tropical weather could still force NASA to delay the launch.
If rain, flooding or wind damages any of the ground systems or infrastructure at the Kennedy Space Center, it could push the launch to be delayed until later in the year. After November 14, the next two windows to launch occur on 11/16 and 11/19.
This is not the first time that tropical weather has interfered with the launch of the uncrewed Artemis I mission. NASA was gearing up to launch the rocket at the end of September following setbacks over the summer, then Hurricane Ian threatened Florida.
Ian made landfall along Florida’s Gulf coast on September 28 as a Category 4 hurricane and weakened as it traversed the Florida Peninsula. The next morning, Ian was a tropical storm, and the eye of the storm was just 10 miles southwest of the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center.
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