Another delay for US moon rocket as hurricane approaches Florida

Robert Besser
01 Oct 2022, 01:43 GMT+10

NASA will roll its giant moon rocket, the Space Launch System, off its launchpad in Florida and back to the assembly building to protect the vehicle from the oncoming Hurricane Ian
The hurricane is expected to strike the Kennedy Space Center later this week
The Space Launch System's rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building will be performed over a distance of 5 miles and take between eight and 11 hours to complete

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: NASA has announced that it will roll its giant moon rocket, the Space Launch System, off its launchpad in Florida and back to the assembly building to protect the vehicle from the oncoming Hurricane Ian.

The hurricane is expected to strike the Kennedy Space Center later this week.

"The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families and protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system," NASA said in a statement.

The Space Launch System's rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building will be performed over a distance of 5 miles and take between eight and 11 hours to complete.

After weeks of troubleshooting by NASA engineers, who detected a leak of supercooled hydrogen propellant in a valve during an earlier launch attempt this month, Hurricane Ian is the latest delay the program has endured.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Northern Ireland News.

More Information

15 ℃

Fair in Belfast/City

United Kingdom

Section

UK approves $621 million to Tata Steel's Welsh site

LONDON, UK: In a deal aimed at securing the future of the British steel industry, the United Kingdom (UK) government ...

Ukraine War Pushes NATO to Bolster Drone-Tackling Expertise

Vredepeel, Netherlands - A small drone flits over opened earth, and an explosion appears on the video feed.The drone has ...

6 Young Portuguese Activists Head to Court in Climate Fight

COSTA DA CAPARICA, Portugal - Sofia Oliveira was 12 years old when catastrophic wildfires in central Portugal killed more than ...

Nijjar killing: US confirms intelligence sharing by Five Eyes made Canada allege India role

New York [US], September 24 (ANI): Wading into the ongoing diplomatic showdown between India and Canada, David Cohen, the US ...

Ukraine's Peace Plan, Grain Deal 'Not Realistic,' Lavrov Says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov castigated Ukraine's proposed 10-point peace plan and spurned a revival of the Black Sea Grain ...

ATP roundup: Alexander Zverev advances at Chengdu Open

(Photo credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports) World No. 10 Alexander Zverev of Germany defeated unseeded Pavel Kotov of Russia 7-6 ...

International

Section