Since the latest forecast showed no improvement, managers decided to play it safe.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Hurricane Jan prompts NASA to move its lunar rocket from the launch pad to storage, adding weeks to a delay to a test flight in lunar orbit.
On Monday, mission managers decided to return the rocket to the Kennedy Space Center hangar. The four-mile journey will begin late Monday night and could take up to 12 hours.
The space center remained on the edge of the hurricane’s cone of uncertainty. Since the latest forecast showed no improvement, managers decided to play it safe. NASA has already postponed this week’s planned launch attempt because of the approaching storm.
NASA has not speculated on when the next launch attempt might be, but it could happen by November. Managers will assess their options once the 322-foot Space Launch System rocket is safely back in the hangar.
A couple of launch attempts were aborted due to hydrogen fuel leaks and other technical problems.
The $4.1 billion test flight will begin NASA’s return to the moon since the Apollo moon pictures of the 1960s and 1970s. No one will be in the crew capsule during the debut launch. Astronauts will prepare for a second mission in 2024 that will land two men on the moon in 2025.
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