NASA officially postponed the launch Artemis I mission month until mid-November in the wake Hurricane Jan devastating impact on southern states including Florida.
The US space agency announced on Friday that it is now working on a launch period that will open from November 12 to 27.
Last week, Hurricane Ian weakened to a tropical storm as it made landfall at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Nevertheless, NASA moved the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket of the Artemis I mission and Orion spaceship to the vehicle assembly building to wait out the storm.
After carrying out inspections on Friday to assess the effects of the hurricane, NASA said it found no damage to Artemis’ flight equipment, adding that the facilities were in good condition with minor water intrusion in a few places.
The teams plan to conduct additional inspections and prepare for the next launch attempt.
This includes retesting the flight termination system and analyzing the workload while the rocket is in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), as well as determining a specific date for the next launch attempt, NASA said.
So far, the Artemis I mission has faced numerous setbacks, including a fuel leak, engine failure, a building fire, and most recently Category 4 hurricane as NASA is trying to launch before the end of the year.
The first launch attempt on August 29 was aborted due to engine cooling problems and the next attempt on September 3 was also canceled due to a hydrogen fuel leak.
NASA then repairs made to the rocket and demonstrated that it would not leak hydrogen during the September 21 test.
While the space agency was evaluating the possibility of a relaunch last week, Hurricane Yan struck.
With the Category 4 hurricane packing winds of about 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour), NASA decided to roll the rocket back into its hangar.
A fire alarm then went off at the VAB due to an electrical problem igniting the rope, leading to the evacuation of the missile hangar.
NASA confirmed on Friday that the Artemis flight equipment was not damaged and that the equipment is in good condition.
The space agency will attempt a relaunch in mid-November, but an exact date has yet to be determined.
“Concentrating efforts on the November launch period gives Kennedy employees time to meet the needs of their families and homes after the storm, and time for teams to determine additional inspections needed before returning to the launch site,” the space agency said in a statement. .