NASA's Artemis 1 mission lift-off on November 16
What's the story
The Artemis 1 mission has had some hard times. Recently, owing to Hurricane Nicole, the scheduled launch on November 14 was canceled. NASA has confirmed that there were no significant impacts resulting from the storm and that the mission is ready for take-off on November 16. The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft are at Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The Artemis 1 mission is the first of the three missions planned by NASA. This is an integrated test flight of the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft around the Moon. The space agency is also planning on manned missions to the Moon. Earlier, technical problems and hurricanes made it impossible for the rocket to lift off. Hopefully, this launch attempt goes well.
Inspection
There are no major impacts from the storm
NASA has officially approved the Artemis 1 for launch. The team has made thorough inspections of the rocket, spacecraft, and associated ground systems and confirmed that there were "no significant impacts from the severe weather." After all, the SLS rocket is designed to withstand intense winds. The rocket and the spacecraft were at the launch pad when Hurricane Nicole hit Florida.
Details
The launch countdown has already started
As per NASA's press release, the launch countdown for Artemis 1 began at 1:24 am EST (11:54 am IST) on November 14. The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft are at Launch Pad 39B, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There will be a two-hour launch window that will commence at 1:04 am EST (11:34 am IST) on November 16 (Wednesday).
Official words
The agency will analyze delaminated caulk on the Orion
"Engineers will conduct an analysis of several feet of delaminated caulk where the ogive on Orion's launch abort system meets the crew module adapter. It will assess risk should it come loose during launch," stated NASA. "The team will meet Monday afternoon to review additional analysis associated with the caulk on Orion's launch abort system that came loose during Hurricane Nicole," the agency added.