JAKARTA - NASA has again announced that the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will still be launched for the Artemis I mission this week, despite experiencing "very minor damage" during the Nicole Storm.
The rocket was on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida when a storm hit last week, as it rolled back this rocket into its building deemed too risky. During the previous launch attempt, which was blocked by Hurricane Ian, the rocket was returned to its building, but this time it was decided it would be safer to leave it in place.
I'm impressed by our #Artemis I team's dedication - their care for @NASA_SLS and @NASA_Orion is keeping us on track. Designing for this environment is challenging, and our design stood up to the test of the storm. We are pressing toward launch on Nov 16: https://t.co/GGHeKcp0yQ pic.twitter.com/fPEAR8jhcm
— Jim Free (@JimFree) November 11, 2022
Now, NASA's team has checked the Orion rocket, spacecraft, and mobile launchers to check if they are still ready to launch as planned on Wednesday, November 16. NASA has also announced it will resume the launch.
"Insinyur System Peluncuran Luar Angkasa telah melakukan analisis detail untuk memastikan angin kencang dan puncak yang dialami selama storm tidak memiliki efek buruk pada kekuatan struktural rocket," tulis NASA dalam pembaruan, yang dikutip Digital Trends.
While various wind peaks are measured by sensors at different altitudes on pads, all measurements remain below 75% of the SLS design limit, which is also intentionally made conservative. Data from actual hardware testing during structural testing and capital testing series, as well as evaluation and other modeling, provide the belief that there is a margin beyond the design rating, "said NASA.
This week at NASA:#Artemis readies for launch, a total lunar eclipse, @NASA_Technology gets a test flight, and the @Space_Station gets resupplied.To keep up-to-date with news from around NASA: https://t.co/MyG37QAe7m pic.twitter.com/qFB9WErAmX
— NASA (@NASA) November 11, 2022
There are concerns that strong winds may have caused damage, but NASA says the problems being fixed are small, such as loose covers and weather. The loud closure that has been added to the Orion spacecraft's emergency ejection system to protect it as long as the storm has been removed and its window will be checked.
The team also turned on the rocket system as part of preparations for launch to check everything was working as expected, in a test which is expected to last until Saturday, November 12. A review of launch preparations will take place on Sunday, November 13.
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