STORM LAN POSTPONES LAUNCH OF NASA'S ARTEMIS I MOON ROCKET

  • 25/09/2022

The launch of Nasa's most powerful rocket has been postponed due to a tropical storm that could turn into a hurricane. The Artemis I Moon rocket was scheduled to launch from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday.

However, the US state is facing a hurricane threat as tropical storm Ian has strengthened and is expected to make landfall in Florida early next week as a major hurricane.

The rocket's launch had already been postponed twice. The Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle is intended to return astronauts and their equipment to the Moon after a 50-year absence. 

Its first launch failed at the end of August due to technical glitches, while a second attempt at the start of September was hampered by a fuel leak.

A decision on whether to return the rocket to its assembly site is due to be taken by the Artemis I team on Sunday.

This would be "to allow for additional data gathering and analysis", NASA said.

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