Artemis I rocket launch delayed again due to tropical storm headed toward Florida
NASA's Artemis I rocket sits on launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center on September 03, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
LAKE MARY, Fla. - Tropical weather – this time, Tropical Storm Nicole – has forced NASA's teams to slightly delay the launch of its Artemis I Mission at Florida's Cape Canaveral. Initially rescheduled to launch on Monday, Nov. 14, the rocket is now scheduled to launch early Wednesday, Nov. 16.
The two-hour launch window opens at 1:04 a.m. Eastern time. If needed, NASA has a backup launch opportunity on Saturday, Nov. 19.
NASA was hoping to launch the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft early Monday morning around midnight but decided to delay the launch due to Tropical Storm Nicole, which is expected to make landfall on Florida's Atlantic Coast sometime early Thursday morning. NASA on Monday said it planned to keep the SLS and Orion spacecraft on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center as Nicole rolls through.
About a month after moving the SLS moon rocket and Orion capsule back into the Vehicle Assembly Building hangar due to Hurricane Ian, the 322-foot-tall launch vehicle arrived back at the KSC launchpad on Nov. 4. The Artemis 1 test flight will send the uncrewed Orion capsule to the moon and back. This will be the third try in four months for Artemis 1. Two launches ended in scrubs due to technical issues.
NASA said it will continue to monitor Tropical Storm Nicole and will proceed with next week's planned launch, pending safe conditions for employees to return to work, as well as inspections after the storm has passed.
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The SLS rocket is designed to withstand 85 mph (74.4 knots) winds at the 60-foot level with a structural margin. Current forecasts predict the greatest risks at the pad are high winds that are not expected to exceed the SLS design. The rocket is designed to withstand heavy rains at the launch pad and the spacecraft hatches have been secured to prevent water intrusion.
NASA managers work with the Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron launch officers to determine if the SLS and Orion should remain on launchpad 39B through the worst of Nicole's impacts. A decision NASA leadership was also forced to make before Hurricane Ian's landfall in September.
A launch on Nov. 16 would result in a splashdown on Friday, Dec. 11.