ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA left its $4.1 billion Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission to the moon on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center to ride out Hurricane Nicole, noting that it could withstand sustained winds of 85 mph at 60 feet high when vertical at Launch Complex 39-B.
Hurricane Nicole ended up testing those safety limits.
The weather sensors on a tower at LC 39-B record wind data among other things at various heights every five minutes, posted to kscweather.ksc.nasa.gov.
The SLS stands 321 feet tall and the 600-foot-tall tower sensors are as high as 459 feet up. At 4:15 a.m., one sensor recorded a maximum gust of 100 mph. The average wind at that time was 85 mph.
At lower heights, though, the wind was not as severe at that time. At 134 feet at that time, a sensor recorded a gust of 81 mph and sustained winds of 67 mph.
The tower’s tallest sensors saw gusts between 90-100 mph several times between 3 and 5 a.m. but sustained winds more in the 50-60 mph range closer to the ground.
Space website Spaceflight Now monitored Artemis I on the pad during the storm with multiple cameras set up at KSC that it streamed on its YouTube channel.
On one repost of the feed to its Twitter account, viewers can see the rocket disappear from view as rain squall from the hurricane moves across the space center.
Ahead of the threat of Hurricane Ian, NASA decided to table a planned launch attempt and roll the SLS, Orion and mobile launch back in September to the safety of the Vehicle Assembly Building. That storm ended up carving a path that took its center right in between KSC’s launch pads 39-A and 39-B.
With the threat of Nicole uncertain last week, officials decided to risk the rollout deeming its winds would not exceed NASA’s safety thresholds.
NASA teams will inspect Kennedy Space Center for damage after the storm passes and have to assess if any issues would delay a planned launch attempt next Wednesday for the Artemis I mission.
KSC moved to HURCON (Hurricane Condition) III status Tuesday, which calls for securing facilities, property and equipment on site. A “ride-out” team remained at KSC to monitor the launch complex including the Artemis I hardware during the storm.
The decision to remain at the pad came earlier this week with NASA on Tuesday saying, “Forecasts predict the greatest risks at the pad are high winds that are not expected to exceed the SLS design. The rocket is designed to withstand heavy rains at the launch pad and the spacecraft hatches have been secured to prevent water intrusion.”
Ahead of Nicole’s arrival, teams powered down Orion, the SLS core stage, interim cryogenic propulsion stage and boosters. A hard cover was also installed over the launch abort system window among other safety measures.
“Teams are poised to resume work as soon as weather and Kennedy center status allows,” NASA stated on Tuesday. “Once back on-site, technicians will perform walkdowns and inspections at the pad to assess the status of the rocket and spacecraft as soon as practicable.”
NASA had been planning a Monday, Nov. 14 launch right after midnight, but now aims for a two-hour window that opens at 1:04 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, but also could shoot for a backup two-hour launch window on Saturday, Nov. 19, that opens at 1:45 a.m. If it launches Wednesday, the Orion capsule would return for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11.
Artemis I is an uncrewed flight that will launch the Orion capsule atop the SLS rocket that will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust on liftoff, which would make it the most powerful rocket to ever launch from Earth.
Orion will then spend several weeks orbiting the moon, heading farther out than and return to Earth faster than any other previous human-rated spacecraft, with re-entry speeds near 24,500 mph generating temperatures around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
If all goes well, NASA can move forward with the crewed Artemis II flight set for no earlier than May 2024, which will also orbit the moon. That would then pave the way for Artemis III, which looks to return humans, including the first woman, to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.
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