The Artemis Mission is once again threatened with a postponement. Tropical Storm Nicole was headed for Florida’s east coast on Tuesday, where NASA’s new moon rocket remained on its launch pad for a liftoff attempt scheduled in less than a week.
Some observers even worried about the SLS rocket’s integrity in the face of high winds, which could carry debris.
The storm, currently over the Atlantic Ocean, is expected to strengthen into a hurricane Wednesday near the Bahamas, before making landfall in Florida on Wednesday night or Thursday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center. (NHC).
A hurricane warning has been issued for the coast, where the Kennedy Space Center is located, from where the Artemis 1 rocket will take off, without an astronaut on board, to mark the first flight of the great American program back to the Moon. .
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By early Tuesday afternoon, Nicole’s sustained winds reached “100 km/h with higher gusts,” according to the NHC. And the storm is expected to strengthen further.
NASA said on Monday “to assess the status of the liftoff attempt” scheduled for November 14 according to the evolution of weather conditions.
Two alternative liftoff dates had previously been announced, November 16 and 19. But the situation could change rapidly in the next few hours.
Source: BFM TV
