NASA Delays Artemis 1 Moon Launch Again, Citing Tropical Storm Ian
NASA announced today that the planned Sept. 27 launch of the Moon-bound Artemis I rocket from Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida will be postponed due to weather forecasts associated with Tropical Storm Ian.
The postponement marks the third delay for the lunar-orbiting test flight. Postponements on August 29 and September 3 were due to technical issues including hydrogen fuel leaks.
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The rocket, which will orbit the Moon, includes no astronauts.
In a statement today, NASA said, “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.”
According to current weather forecasts, Tropical Storm Ian, currently in the Caribbean, is expected to hit Florida’s Gulf coast with hurricane force by Thursday.
A new launch date was not announced.
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