NASA's Artemis 1 launch could be delayed until October

The launch of NASA's unmanned lunar mission, scheduled for September 27th, could be postponed again, this time until October.

Two launch attempts a few weeks ago were thwarted because of technical problems, including a fuel leak. Now the new Artemis 1 mission, scheduled for Sept. 27, is also in jeopardy because of a storm that is gathering in the Caribbean Sea.

The yet unnamed storm is currently raging south of the Dominican Republic. However, there are fears that it can develop into a hurricane in the coming days and move north to Florida, where the Kennedy Space Center (where the rocket is scheduled to launch) is located.

“Our plan A to stay the course and get launch off on Sept. 27th, but we also need to be paying attention and thinking about a plan B,” said Mike Bolger, manager of NASA's exploration ground systems.

The giant space launch system rocket may have to go back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, known as the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building).

A final decision should be made tonight, he said.

On the launch pad, the white and orange SLS rocket can withstand wind gusts up to 137 kilometers per hour. But if the rocket has to be sheltered in the VAB, the current launch window, which runs through Oct. 4, will be missed.

The next launch window will be Oct. 17-31, with one flight opportunity per day except Oct. 24-26 and Oct. 28. A possible launch date for the mission depends on whether NASA can get special permission to avoid retesting the batteries in the emergency flight system, which is used to destroy the rocket if it deviates from the target range and flies toward populated areas.

The Sept. 27 launch window will open at 11:37 a.m. local time and last 70 minutes. If the rocket does take off that day, the mission will last 39 days, after which the rocket will land in the Pacific Ocean on Nov. 5.

One of the purposes of the Artemis 1 space mission is to test the SLS rocket, as well as the Orion unmanned capsule attached to it, in preparation for future missions to the moon with humans on board. Astronauts on the mission will be replaced by dummies equipped with special sensors that will record acceleration, vibration and radiation levels.

The next mission, Artemis 2, is expected to take astronauts to the orbit if the moon without landing on its surface.

The Artemis 3 mission will finally land on the moon, but not before 2025.