NASA’s moon rocket needs only minor repairs after a hurricane on the pad and is on track for its first test flight next week, a top official said Friday. “Right now, there’s nothing stopping us” from attempting a launch on Wednesday, said NASA’s Jim Free, an associate administrator. Wind never exceeded the rocket’s design limits as Hurricane Nicole swept through the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, according to the Free. But he admitted that if the launch team had known in advance that a hurricane was about to hit, they probably would have kept the rocket indoors. The rocket was brought to the pad late last week for the $4.1 billion demonstration mission. Gusts reached 100 mph (160 km/h) at the top of the launch tower, but were not as strong further down the rocket. Computer models show there should be no strength or fatigue problems from the storm, even deep inside the rocket, Free noted. NASA had targeted an early Monday launch, but put it on hold for two days because of the storm. The 322-foot-long (98-meter) rocket, known as the SLS for Space Launch System, is the most powerful ever built by NASA. A crew capsule atop the rocket, with three test dummies, will shoot for the moon – the first such flight in 50 years, when Apollo astronauts last visited the moon.
NASA’s New Moon rocket sits at Launch Pad 39-B Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: AP Photo/Chris O’Meara A sign showing NASA’s Apollo and Space Shuttle programs is seen near NASA’s New Moon rocket as it sits on Launch Pad 39-B Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: AP Photo/Chris O’Meara NASA’s New Moon rocket sits at Launch Pad 39-B Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: AP Photo/Chris O’Meara NASA’s New Moon rocket sits at Launch Pad 39-B Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: AP Photo/Chris O’Meara NASA’s New Moon rocket sits at Launch Pad 39-B Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Credit: AP Photo/Chris O’Meara
NASA wants to test all systems before boarding astronauts in 2024 for a trip around the Moon. Two previous launch attempts, in late summer, were thwarted by fuel leaks. Hurricane Ian also forced a return to the shed in late September.
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