NASA left its $50 billion moon rocket exposed to Hurricane Nicole's powerful winds

As Hurricane Nicole battered the state, NASA left its prized new moon rocket exposed on its Florida launch pad.

An estimated $50 billion is in the making of the space launch system. It was designed by NASA to return astronauts to the moon for the first time in 42 years and to build a permanent base.

SLS is yet to fly. It has suffered setbacks all year from technical issues to weather, and now its launch is delayed again, this time from Monday, November 14, to Wednesday, November 16, as NASA addresses "minor damage" from the Hurricane.

One of the engine's rain covers was torn, an umbilical cord between the rocket and the spaceship came out of place, and some sealant was damaged.

NASA/Frank Michaux

Jim Free, an associate administrator at NASA, said there was nothing preventing them from reaching the 16th.

It's rare for NASA to leave a rocket out on a launchpad in the middle of a storm. There was no guarantee that the rocket's design limits would not be exceeded. Ahead of the storm, AccuWeather warned that there was a chance of wind speeds exceeding the limits.

Jonathan Porter, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, said in a statement that the situation raises serious questions about NASA's procedures for weather risk mitigation and preparation.

NASA rolled the rocket out with a storm on the horizon

NOAA GOES-East

NASA rolled the rocket from its sheltered vehicle assembly building to the launch pad as a storm formed in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm wasn't strong enough to exceed NASA's safety constraints for the rocket.

We probably would have stayed in the VAB if we'd known that it was going to be a storm.

Nicole was closing in and forecasts looked worse. It takes several days to plan and execute a return to the VAB. It would be too dangerous to roll the rocket back to the building. The rocket's hardware is already stressed by that. NASA is at risk of serious damage if strong winds are added.

We couldn't return to the VAB and be safe.

Nicole hit SLS with strong winds. Near the top of the launchpad, wind gusts of up to 100 mph were recorded. The rocket's design limits did not exceed this.

Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters

Porter said that small increases in wind can lead to large increases in damage potential.

The risks of leaving the rocket on the launchpad were assessed by NASA officials. It seems the risk was worth it.