Cape Canaveral - Tuesday November 15, 2022: NASA has confirmed that the launch of the Artemis I moon mission remains on track for early Wednesday morning, despite earlier concerns about damage from Hurricane Nicole last week.
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion the spacecraft arrived at Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B on November 4th and rode out the storm there. NASA says they conducted a thorough assessment of the rocket, the spacecraft, and the related ground systems following the passage of Hurricane Nicole and they found no significant impacts from the severe weather.
The two-hour launch window opens at 1:04 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 16, and NASA expects good weather for the third Artemis 1 launch attempt.
Engineers previously rolled the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) Sept. 26 ahead of Hurricane Ian and after waving off two previous launch attempts Aug. 29 due to a faulty temperature sensor, and Sept. 4 due to a liquid hydrogen leak at an interface between the rocket and mobile launcher.
Prior to rolling back to the VAB, teams successfully repaired the leak and demonstrated updated tanking procedures. While in the VAB, teams also performed standard maintenance to repair minor damage to the foam and cork on the thermal protection system and recharge or replace batteries throughout the system.
Live coverage will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website at: https://www.nasa.gov/live
Mission Facts:
- Launch date: Nov. 16, 2022
- Mission duration: 25 days, 11 hours, 36 minutes
- Total distance traveled: 1.3 million miles
- Re-entry speed: 24,500 mph (Mach 32)
- Splashdown: Dec. 11, 2022
Artemis I is the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, an un-crewed Orion spacecraft, and the ground systems at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center. The mission will pave the way for a crewed test flight and future human lunar exploration.