NASA delays Moon mission to Feb 8 over frigid weather
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
NASA plans to send four astronauts on a flyby of the moon, if the revised Feb 8 launch date is confirmed.
PHOTO: AFP
- NASA delayed the Artemis 2 Moon mission launch due to freezing temperatures in Florida, pushing the earliest possible launch date to Feb 8.
- The delay impacts the launch window, leaving only three potential days in February for the Artemis 2 mission, while the crew remains quarantined.
- NASA is coordinating the Artemis 2 launch with a planned ISS crew rotation on Feb 11, aiming to avoid conflicts, according to Ken Bowersox.
AI generated
WASHINGTON - NASA on Jan 30 postponed the earliest date that astronauts could fly to the Moon due to forecasts of freezing temperatures at the Florida launch site.
The earliest window for the moonshot will now be Feb 8, two days later than scheduled.
NASA was preparing to conduct a key fuelling test over the weekend of the 98m rocket that is on the Cape Canaveral launch pad in Florida.
But Arctic air surging across the US has hampered life for days with frigid temperatures that came on the heels of a deadly winter storm.
Tropical Florida is not immune: the normally sunny state could experience its lowest temperatures in decades that are forecast to hover around freezing.
“The expected weather this weekend would violate launch conditions,” NASA said in a statement.
Weather permitting, NASA crews now are aiming to conduct their final tests on Feb 2, after which a launch date will be determined.
The change narrows the possibility that NASA can launch their Artemis 2 team of four astronauts on their Moon flyby
The team remains in quarantine in Houston, NASA said.
Heaters are atop the Orion capsule to ensure it stays warm, the US space agency said, and purging systems are in place and configured for the colder weather to maintain proper environmental conditions.
NASA officials are also preparing to launch a crew to the International Space Station, a mission that is being closely coordinated as it is currently planned to happen within days of a potential Artemis 2 launch.
The next NASA crew rotation to the ISS could happen as soon as Feb 11, but depending on the Artemis plans, it could get delayed.
“Our teams have worked very carefully to see how we can keep moving towards launch for both missions, while at the same time making sure we avoid any major conflicts,” said Mr Ken Bowersox, an administrator NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, during a Jan 30 briefing.
Notably, the new Feb 8 window for a potential launch to the Moon falls on the same day as the highly watched Super Bowl, the National Football League championship.
That launch window would open at 11.20pm eastern – soon after the game would likely wrap. AFP
