Despite some damage from Hurricane Nicole, NASA's megarocket for the moon will lift off in November.
The Space Launch System was put on the pad in anticipation of another attempt. The first test flight of the new crew capsule is planned for the 322 foot giant.
NASA decided to ride out the weather in place rather than take the vehicle back to its hangar as Tropical Storm Nicole approached.
Jim Free, NASA's associate administrator of exploration ground systems, said on a call with reporters on Friday that if they had known about the storm, they would have stayed in the hangar. I represent a team but I think I can speak for them.
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Mission managers said that SLS was built to handle even more severe gusts, despite the fact that the rocket was able to endure up to 82 mph wind.
A harness for an electrical umbilical that could need to be replaced was one of the damage.
The launch window is open for two hours. The day is Wednesday. Two of the five launch dates NASA has scheduled for this year have actually taken place.
"If we knew on the night before we were rolling out that it was going to be a hurricane, we probably would have stayed in the [hangar]."
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The first deep space flight of a capsule built to carry astronauts in a half-century is set to happen by NASA. A 40,000-mile swing past the moon is part of the plan if all goes well. A successful test flight will clear the way for astronauts on Artemis II. There is a flight that is scheduled to take off as early as 24 years from now.
After the launch crew discovered an engine that appeared not to be cooling fuel properly, the Artemis attempt was stopped. NASA found that the problem was an inaccurate sensor. There was a large fuel leak at the base of the rocket during the second attempt.
Hurricane season began. At the end of September, NASA had to roll back the rocket because it was in danger of being destroyed by Hurricane Ian. After repairs, it came back this month. Mission managers decided it was better to leave the Statue of Liberty-sized rocket at the pad than to move it.
"What I'd say is we're never going to get to Artemis II if Artemis I isn't successful," Free said when asked if the agency is more comfortable taking certain risks with this rocket.
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