KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – The rocket NASA is hoping to send to the moon next week will stay on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, despite Subtropical Storm Nicole bearing down on Florida.
NASA says it is working to monitor Nicole along with the U.S. Space Force, and was making storm preparations. However, based on the current forecast data, the Space Launch Systems rocket would stay at Launch Pad 39B for the time being.
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Meanwhile, NASA said it would evaluate the status of the planned launch for the Artemis I mission on Monday, Nov. 14.
NASA rolled the rocket out to the launch pad ahead of that Nov. 14 launch date last week.
Teams at Kennedy will continue to monitor the weather, make sure all personnel are safe, and will evaluate the status of the Monday, Nov. 14, launch attempt for the Artemis I mission as we proceed and receive updated predictions about the weather. (3/3)
— NASA's Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) November 7, 2022
In September, NASA had to roll the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building because of Hurricane Ian, forcing NASA to push the rocket’s maiden launch back.
The uncrewed Artemis I mission is meant to send the Orion spacecraft on board the rocket to orbit the moon and bring it back to Earth to test whether the vehicle is able to bring astronauts to the moon’s orbit on Artemis II.
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