(ANSA) - ROME, SEPTEMBER 27 - The tropical storm Ian forces NASA to move the SLS (SpaceLaunch System) rocket of the Artemis 1 mission directed from the Moon from the launch pad.
At the Kennedy Space Center, operations to transfer the launcher from ramp 39B to the assembly building (Vab) began at 5:21 am (Italian time) and will take a few hours.
The decision to bring the rocket back to the Vab will also allow to deepen the controls on the liquid propellant refueling systems in view of a future launch attempt, the date of which is to be defined.
The decision to return the launch to the assembly building was made by NASA after evaluating information on the meteorological situation acquired by the Agency for Monitoring the Atmosphere and Oceans (Noaa) and the US Space Force.
The rocket will now have to travel, moved by the platform on which it is fixed, the approximately 7 kilometers that separate the launch pad from the assembly building, where it can be secured.
A break that will allow technicides to work on the rocket more easily and to inspect all the devices involved in the leak of liquid hydrogen detected during loading, both in the launch attempt on September 3 and in the test on September 21.
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