NASA Artemis moon rocket launch countdown begins - Fox Business

The countdown for NASA’s Artemis I motorboat is underway for an anticipated liftoff from Florida's abstraction seashore connected Wednesday, though harm sustained during Hurricane Nicole could hold the rocket’s voyage a small longer.

As Hurricane Nicole made landfall successful Florida past Thursday, the precocious winds caused a 10-foot conception of caulking to peel distant adjacent the unit capsule connected apical of the rocket, the Associated Press reported.

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 02: NASA's Artemis I rocket sits connected motorboat pad 39-B astatine Kennedy Space Center connected September 02, 2022, successful Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Artemis I archetypal effort to was scrubbed aft an contented was recovered connected 1 of the rock ((Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) / Getty Images)

This is the archetypal trial formation for the 322-foot rocket, scheduled to motorboat from Kennedy Space Center successful Cape Canaveral, Florida astatine 1:04 a.m. connected Wednesday – the unit capsule volition not beryllium manned by astronauts this go-around, but trial dummies volition inhabit the space.

NASA REVEALS ARTEMIS I'S NEXT LAUNCH ATTEMPT

Mission managers fearfulness the peeled caulking, though narrow, could harm the rocket if it breaks off. They are expected to marque a last determination connected whether to determination guardant with the motorboat sometime Monday evening, according to the AP.

"Artemis I volition beryllium the archetypal successful a bid of progressively analyzable missions to physique a semipermanent quality beingness astatine the satellite for decades to come," NASA said connected its website. "The superior goals for Artemis I are to show Orion’s systems successful a spaceflight situation and guarantee a harmless re-entry, descent, splashdown, and betterment anterior to the archetypal formation with unit connected Artemis II."

The NASA satellite rocket stands acceptable little than 24 hours earlier it is scheduled to motorboat connected Pad 39B for the Artemis 1 ngo to orbit the satellite astatine the Kennedy Space Center, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022, successful Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) (AP Newsroom)

Over the people of 25 days, 11 hours, and 36 minutes, the spacecraft volition question 1.3 cardinal miles, and erstwhile it re-enters the earth’s atmosphere, it is expected to beryllium traveling astatine 24,500 mph, oregon Mach 32, earlier splashing down connected Dec. 11.

NASA SCIENTISTS WORKING ON GROUND MISSIONS IN PREPARATION TO PUT AMERICAN BOOTS BACK ON THE MOON

While successful space, the spacecraft volition orbit the earth, deploy star arrays and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, oregon ICPS, to get capable propulsion to permission the planet’s orbit and question to the moon, NASA said connected its site.

Getting to the satellite volition instrumentality respective days, but erstwhile determination it volition alert 62 miles supra the aboveground of the satellite and usage the gravitational unit to propel the Orion spacecraft astir 40,000 miles from the satellite for orbit.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher astatine Launch Pad 39B arsenic teams configure systems for rolling backmost to the Vehicle Assembly Building, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, astatine NASA’s Kennedy Space (Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky) / Fox News)

It volition past orbit the satellite for six days earlier heading backmost to earth. Once the spacecraft returns, it is expected to onshore disconnected the seashore of Baja, California.

The AP reported that the monthlong $4 cardinal ngo has been grounded since August, owed to substance leaks and Hurricane Ian.

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NASA moved the rocket into its hangar during Hurricane Ian, but it remained connected the motorboat pad for Hurricane Nicole.

The past clip NASA sent astronauts to the satellite was during the Apollo program's past ngo successful December 1972.

NASA is utilizing this prototype pressurized satellite rover to larn much astir the existent exertion limitations to assistance physique a newer mentation for aboriginal Artemis missions.  (FOX / Fox News)