The tropical storm bearing down on Florida has caused Tuesday's (September 27th) launch of Artemis 1 to be cancelled. Flying through the storm could cause lightning to strike, and damage the rocket.

The backup launch window of October 2nd was not immediately slated for use. It's entirely possible that Artemis will be rolled back to the vehicle assembly building, before it's finally launched. That decision will probably be made tomorrow.

With a wavering and uncertain path of the tropical storm expected in Florida this week, the decision on moving the Artemis 1 rocket back under shelter has be deferred to Monday. The need to protect Artemis from potential storm damage, will be balanced against the added delays caused by moving it back to the vehicle assembly building.

And back into the shed it goes.

NASA decides to roll its moon rocket back to shelter as Hurricane Ian nears Florida.

Cheers.

It looks like further delays will happen.

NASA says Artemis launch before November will be 'difficult'.

Cheers.

It's here. Good decision to move the rocket.

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Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

NASA Sets New Artemis I Launch Date, Says Hurricane Ian Didn't Harm Hardware.

NASA's Artemis I moon launch, stalled by Hurricane Ian, has a new target for takeoff. The launch window for step one of NASA's plan to get humans back on the moon now opens Nov. 12 and closes Nov. 27, the space agency said Friday....

Cheers.

NASA has announced a specific launch date within the previously defined window, which runs from November 12th to 27th. The plan, now, is to launch on November 14th, at about midnight Eastern Time ( 9p.m. Pacific, which is 5 hours UT/GMT on the 15th.

A nighttime launch is not considered the most desirable, because it limits visibility of the rocket, but is necessary for this launch window. If the rocket can not be launched on the 14th, back-up dates of November 16th, and 19th have been planned.

Well it's being wheeled out yet again.

The next attempt to launch the Artemis I mission will be at night.

NASA has confirmed its next launch attempt for the Artemis I mission will be at night, with a midnight launch scheduled for the early hours of Monday, November 14th. Following a difficult few months attempting to get the Space Launch System rocket off the ground for the first time, including several wet dress rehearsals, two previous launch attempts, a tanking test, and an interruption from a hurricane, the rocket will begin rolling back out to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida just after midnight on Friday, November 4th....

But will it get off the ground this time?

Cheers.

Yet another possible delay?

Potential Hurricane Poses Threat to NASA’s Upcoming Moon Launch.

Cheers.

It appears that subtropical storm Nicole will reach Florida tomorrow, Wednesday, November 9th. It will very probably be far from Cape Canaveral by Artemis' launch date, next Monday, November 14th, if it even still exists by that time.

Out of an abundance of caution, NASA has postponed the launching of Artemis 1 to November 16th, at 1:04 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (6:04 UT/GMT; 10:04 p.m. on November 15th.)

Hurricane causes only minor damage to Artemis rocket.

After initial visual inspections, NASA said on Thursday that its new mega moon rocket apparently suffered no major damage after Hurricane Nicole hit Florida.

But employees must conduct further checks on site as soon as possible to confirm the initial assessment, said Jim Free, associate administrator at the US space agency.

Free said that NASA teams employing cameras at the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center found "very minor damage such as loose caulk and tears in weather coverings."

Nicole made landfall Wednesday night on Florida's Atlantic Coast as a Category 1 hurricane.

Free said wind sensors detected gusts up to 82 miles (132 kilometers) per hour along the rocket's body, which is "within the rocket's capability" to withstand.

The uncrewed Artemis 1 mission, slated now to blast off on November 16, will mark the very first flight of a highly-anticipated US program of returning to the moon. NASA hopes to use an Artemis rocket to send astronauts to the lunar surface as soon as 2025, assuming the program goes to plan.

Such a feat would mark the first time humans walk on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Cheers.

At least Artemis can find where it's going now, if it ever lifts off.

NASA's First Cubesat Reaches Moon to Show Artemis the Way.

While NASA eyes a planned launch of its first big Artemis moon mission early Wednesday, a tiny cubesat has officially arrived at the moon to serve as a pathfinder for upcoming stages of the agency's lunar program....

Cheers.

Finally it got off the ground.

NASA's Space Launch System Artemis I rocket takes off 50 years after the final Apollo Moon mission.

Cheers.

Yay!!! Wow!!!!

That has been a long time coming and a lot of effort...!

Still... Way to go yet...


Keep searchin'!
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Target in sight.

Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft sees the moon for 1st time in stunning video.

Now for the real test. The return.

Artemis I leaves lunar orbit and begins 10-day journey back to Earth.

Cheers.

It's getting near time to see if the brakes work.

NASA's Orion capsule heads for splashdown after Artemis I flight around moon.

Artemis 1 successfully concluded its mission, with a splash-down at 17:40 Universal Time, off the coast of San Diego. It approached the Earth at an unusually high speed. Its special heat shield, intended to withstand temperatures of 5000 degrees Celsius, seems to have performed admirably.

The next Artemis mission will carry four astronauts in a similar trip around the Moon, before returning to Earth. The mission is planned for May, 2024, and is expected to last for about 21 days.

Artemis 1 successfully concluded its mission, with a splash-down at 17:40 Universal Time, off the coast of San Diego.

Yay! Good stuff!!

Was it not to splashdown further south off Baja so as to miss some bad weather and heavy sea swells? Or was the weather not so bad and so "Plan A" was still good?

It approached the Earth at an unusually high speed...

Well... It had been in free fall from an orbit from way beyond the moon!

How does that compare to the heating for the Apollo missions returning from their nearer orbit around the moon?

... [Next] mission is planned for May, 2024, and is expected to last for about 21 days.

Why the unusually long delay between missions?...


Here's hoping good efficient progress can be made!

Keep searchin',
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)