NASA is postponing the attempted launch of its new moon rocket next week because of a tropical storm that is expected to become a major hurricane.
It’s the third delay in the past month for Artemis I, the lunar orbit test flight with dummies but no astronauts, a follow-up to NASA’s half-century-old Apollo moon landing program.
Hydrogen fuel leaks and other technical problems led to the previous cancellations.
Currently in the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Ian is expected to become a hurricane on Monday and land on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Thursday.
The entire state, however, is in the cone showing the likely path of the storm’s center, including NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Faced with the uncertainties of the forecast, NASA decided on Saturday to abandon the launch attempt planned for Tuesday and prepare the 98-meter high rocket for a possible return to its hangar.
Managers will decide on Sunday whether to take him off the pitch.
If the rocket remains on the pad, NASA could attempt a launch on Oct. 2, the last chance before a two-week shutdown period.
But a pushback to late Sunday or early Monday would likely mean a long delay for the test flight, possibly the November surge.
The Space Launch System rocket is the most powerful ever built by NASA.
Assuming their first test flight goes well, astronauts would board for the next mission in 2024, leading to a two-person lunar landing in 2025.