Sep 26, 2022 - Science
Hurricane Ian forces NASA Artemis rocket rollback
- Alex Fitzpatrick, author of Axios What's Next
NASA's Artemis I rocket sits on launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 2 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
NASA is rolling its Artemis 1 rocket back to the massive Vehicle Assembly Building to protect it from the incoming Hurricane Ian.
Why it matters: It's yet another delay for what would be the first flight of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule.
- While this first mission will be uncrewed, NASA aims to fly astronauts back to the moon aboard SLS and Orion in the next few years.
Details: Rollback is set to begin at 11pm ET Monday.
- Ian became a hurricane Monday morning and is expected to make landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast later this week.
- Kennedy Space Center is on Florida's Atlantic coast, but the threat of high winds and other issues forced NASA's hand.
What they're saying: "The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families and protect the integrated rocket and spacecraft system," NASA said in a statement.
What's next: It's looking increasingly likely that Artemis won't launch until late October, at the earliest.