CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The next possible launch of Artemis-1, NASA's uncrewed test flight in their efforts to return humans to the moon, will not happen prior to Wednesday, Nov. 16 as a result of impacts forecast from Hurricane Nicole, NASA announced Tuesday.
The Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule will remain on Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center throughout Hurricane Nicole, which is forecast to make landfall along the east coast of Florida later this week.
The space vehicle will "ride-out" the storm, which is expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds, and flooding to Florida and portions of the Southeast.
NASA could have elected to rollback the spacecraft to the safety of the Vehicle Assembly Building but hopes to launch as early as 1:04 a.m. EST on Nov. 16.
"Teams are poised to resume work as soon as weather and Kennedy center status allows," NASA said in a blog post Tuesday. "Once back on-site, technicians will perform walkdowns and inspections at the pad to assess the status of the rocket and spacecraft as soon as practicable."
The spacecraft is designed to withstand winds as high as 85 mph. As of Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center did not expect Nicole to exceed those limits.
"The rocket is designed to withstand heavy rains at the launch pad and the spacecraft hatches have been secured to prevent water intrusion," NASA said."
Ahead of Hurricane Ian, NASA canceled prior launch attempts in order to safely secure the vehicle back indoors.
Artemis-1 is a test mission with no humans aboard. Later Artemis missions will return humans to the moon, including landing the first person of color and the first woman on the moon.