The rocket did experience some issues from being left in the storm. Once Nicole had developed, however, it was too late to roll the 32-storey rocket back to the safety of the assembly building, so the rocket remained on the pad during the storm, and the launch date was moved to Nov. NASA had rolled the rocket back to the launch pad on Nov. 10 just south of the Kennedy Space Center as a Category 1 storm. Then there was Hurricane Nicole, which made landfall on Nov. 28 as a Category 4 storm and, though it did not cause extensive damage at the Kennedy Space Center, the space agency wanted to inspect the pad and allow its workers time to take care of themselves, which further delayed the launch. The hurricane made landfall from the Gulf of Mexico on Sept. 3 was also scrubbed due to fuel loading issues and a hydrogen leak.įirst, it was Hurricane Ian that forced NASA to roll the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Finally, one of the four rocket engines failed to cool down as expected, and eventually crews ran out of time in the launch window and were forced to scrub the launch.Ī second launch attempt on Sept. Then the two types of propellants - liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen - weren't loading at acceptable rates. However, the space agency encountered several issues that day, including a delay in loading the rocket's propellant due to stormy weather. Originally, the rocket was supposed to launch on Aug. Now, the 26-day mission begins, which will test multiple systems, including most importantly, a new heat shield that is designed to protect astronauts from heat as they re-enter the atmosphere at nearly 40,000 km/h.Īrtemis II, set to launch in 2024, will carry four astronauts - including a Canadian - who will orbit the moon and return to Earth.Īrtemis III, set to launch in 2025, will see humans once again on the surface of the moon.īut trying to get the Artemis mission up and going had been quite the challenge for NASA. Though the rocket performed, it's only the start of the mission: Orion successfully completed its translunar injection, which puts it on its path to the moon. The last time humans were on the moon was in December 1972. Atop it sits the Orion spacecraft, which will one day ferry astronauts to and from the moon. The Space Launch System - the rocket itself - is the space agency's most powerful rocket ever built. This time with an ethernet cable from the range, which monitors safety in and around the launch area. However, during the propellant load of its second stage - which takes the Orion capsule destined for the moon into its desired orbit - another leak was detected.Ī crew was sent to the pad - a perilous job with a rocket loaded with fuel - to fix the issue, which worked.īut once again, there was another issue. It fixed the initial issue for this launch attempt. NASA had previously encountered a liquid hydrogen leak during its first two launch attempts.
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