The launch of the SLS mega rocket, the centerpiece of NASA’s Artemis program, was scheduled for Tuesday, September 27. But instead of soaring to infinity and beyond, the rocket will likely return to its assembly building.
No technical problem this time, but inclement weather: Tropical Storm Ian, currently south of Jamaica, is heading straight for Florida – from where the rocket is to take off – and should soon earn its hurricane stripes .
take in account the “billions of dollars” spent on the Artemis program, “Nasa certainly does not want to see” its SLS rocket and its Orion capsule “on a launch pad in the middle of a hurricane”, observes Space.com. She is therefore considering a small “backtrack to the assembly building, to take cover”.
The final decision on whether to return to the hangar will be made on Sunday – Ian’s trajectory could still evolve and spare the Kennedy Space Center – but even if the rocket remains on its launch pad, a September 27 departure is now ruled out.
But if the NASA teams “decide to leave Artemis 1 on its ramp, the mission could still, theoretically, take off on its fallback date, October 2”precise Space.com. A return to the shed, on the other hand “would most likely exclude that date as well”.
The long-awaited launch of the mega rocket should mark the kick-off of the Artemis 1 mission, intended to verify that the Orion capsule, which tops the SLS rocket, is perfectly safe for the transport of astronauts.
The program’s first manned mission, Artemis 2, is scheduled for 2024. Nasa then hopes – in 2025 at the earliest – to land the Artemis 3 crew, which will include at least one woman and one person of color, on the Moon. .