Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral were directly in the path of Hurricane Ian.
Ian became a moderately strong tropical storm with the bulk of its heaviest rain to the north of the launch pads. The Kennedy Space Center's and the Space Force's launch pads were undamaged.
By Friday, work was already underway for a rapid-fire succession of three launches in three days.
The SES-20 and SES-21 satellites will be launched on the Atlas V rocket. The Atlas rocket has a five-meter-diameter payload fairing, three solid rocket boosters, and one engine on the upper stage.
The United Launch Alliance said on Friday that everything continues to progress towards the launch of the mission on October 4. The launch is scheduled to take place at 5:36 pmEST. There is a 70% chance of favorable weather for launch.
The Atlas V rocket will deliver the two communications satellites to their destinations. The satellites will use onboard systems to circularize their flight at 35,900 km above the equator after separation.
NASA's Crew-5 mission will launch from Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket. On October 5th, the mission remains on schedule, according to NASA officials.
The crew of four, including two astronauts from NASA and one from Japan, are in Houston waiting for the outcome of Hurricane Ian. They will be flying to Florida on Saturday to get ready for the launch.
AdvertisementAhead of a static fire test on Sunday, the Falcon 9 rocket will be rolled with the Crew Dragon spaceship. There are no technical issues that need to be fixed before the launch.
On October 6th, there will be another launch. The Intelsat'sGalaxy 33 and 34 satellites telecommunications satellites will be delivered by a Falcon 9 rocket. The launch is scheduled to take place at 7 pmEST.
This will be the 14th launch for the first-stage booster. This is the first time in the history of the company that a purely commercial mission has been flown on its 10th flight. This shows that the commercial satellite market is becoming more comfortable with the refurbishment process for used rockets.
The Artemis I hardware was tucked inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center and survived the storm. It will take about six weeks for the rocket to be ready.
"As teams complete post-storm recovery operations, NASA has determined it will focus Artemis I launch planning efforts on the launch period that opens November 12 and closes November 27," NASA stated. Managers will assess the scope of work to perform while in the VAB and determine a specific date for the next launch attempt.
In the coming days, engineers and technicians will extend access platforms around the Space Launch System rocket to conduct inspections and prepare for the next launch attempt.
NASA wants to make sure that all of the various batteries, stored propellants, and other "life limited items" on the vehicles are still in good working condition before they can be used again.
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