The Artemis I mission is still on track to launch this week despite the high winds from Hurricane Nicole. According to NASA officials, there was only minor damage to the rocket and the spaceship, but there was some material that could pose a problem to launch. The Artemis I mission is to be launched on an uncrewed mission around the Moon in order to test out the technology before a series of crewed missions visit the Moon.
Experts were worried that high winds could cause the rocket to rock, so they left it on the launchpad. When Hurricane Ian threatened the Florida coast last month, the rocket was returned to a building for safety. NASA left the rocket on the pad when Hurricane Nicole was about to hit.
The problem was that rolling the rocket back to the building would have been its own risk by the time the winds came in. Jim Free, associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, said that they decided to stay at the pad because of the high winds.
The rocket appears to have survived the storm. There were two main issues of concern, one of which was an electrical connection on the umbilical that sends liquid hydrogen fuel to the rocket which was deemed a suspect.
The loose material is something that is not being fixed. The RTV has peeled away from the side of the vehicle. The area is about 10 feet long and is a very thin layer of RTV. The thickness is about 0.2 inches.
The RTV is too high up on the stack of rockets to be repaired. There are further protections underneath the layer that prevent the spaceship from overheating as it passes through the atmosphere, which is why the team is confident that it won't be damaged.
There is some concern that some of this material could come loose during launch and cause damage to the rocket, so the team is looking into that.
"We need to just spend a little more time to review our flight rationale heading into this launch attempt, specifically as it pertains to liberation of any remaining RTV and debris transport."
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