NASA to Return Artemis to Primary Hangar Due to Hurricane Ian Written 27 September 2022
NASA to toll Artemis back to primary hangar. | Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux, via Aerosapce America
Bloomberg reports that “NASA will return its Artemis rocket and spacecraft to its primary hangar as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida, ending any chance of a launch in the next several days.” The Washington Post reports that the Artemis mission’s management team were hoping that “conditions would improve. They didn’t. And when the” team “met Monday morning, it decided it was best to roll the 322-foot-tall rocket, with the spacecraft mounted on top, back the four miles to the massive Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center.” According to the Post, this is a “frustrating and disappointing moment for a program that has been plagued by all sorts of problems over the years: cost overruns and technical delays – which have filled multiple government watchdog reports – have painted a grim picture of lax government oversight and poor contractor performance.”
Full Story (Bloomberg); More Info (Washington Post)
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If Artemis 1 does not launch in October, the next launch window is from Nov. 12 to 27.