The Artemis launch attempt planned for Sept. 27 has been called off due to Tropical Storm Ian, which is forecast to hit Florida as a major hurricane next week.
NASA was hoping to launch its Space Launch System rocket and uncrewed Orion spacecraft to the moon as soon as Tuesday, according to the Washington Post, however, the possibility of a major hurricane hitting Florida at the same time as the launch is not something to mess with.
The storm, which is now Tropical Storm Ian, is expected to strengthen rapidly once it hits the warm waters of the Caribbean and approach Florida on Tuesday as either a Category 2 or 3 Hurricane.
In a statement, NASA writes it is foregoing a launch opportunity Tuesday, Sept. 27, and preparing for rollback, while continuing to watch the weather forecast associated with Tropical Storm Ian. During a meeting Saturday morning, teams decided to stand down on preparing for the Tuesday launch date to allow them to configure systems for rolling back the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Engineers deferred a final decision about the roll to Sunday, Sept. 25, to allow for additional data gathering and analysis. If Artemis I managers elect to roll back, it would begin late Sunday night or early Monday morning.
NASA said the agency is continuing to watch the latest from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Space Force, and the National Hurricane Center.
If they decide that the Artemis 1 SLS stack needs to be rolled back into the vehicle assembly building, it’ll take three days. And there’s a wind speed limit of 46 miles per hour during the hours-long process.
