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The Artemis mission rocket is wheeled back into Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building for protection
Photo: Joe Burbank / dpa
The hurricane "Ian" thwarts the plans of the US space agency Nasa: The test start of the "Artemis" moon mission is postponed further.
Because of the approaching storm, NASA rolled the rocket system back into the hangar at the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida and canceled the launch that was actually planned for Tuesday.
In the hangar, some maintenance work should first be carried out, Nasa announced at a press conference.
It is therefore likely that the test will not start until November, but possibly as early as the end of October.
About a month ago, two attempts to start had failed - partly because of a leak in the fueling system.
Problems had also arisen during earlier »Artemis« tests, which ultimately resulted in the first major delay in the project.
Launch to the ISS postponed
The start plan for the next crew for the International Space Station ISS is also being shaken up by the hurricane: the start, which was actually planned for October 3rd, can now take place on October 4th at the earliest, Nasa announced on Tuesday.
Another possible alternative date is October 5th, the weather will continue to be closely monitored.
"The safety of the crew, ground teams and hardware is a top priority for NASA and SpaceX," it said in a statement.
The Kennedy Space Center is also making preparations throughout the spaceport to secure other objects and infrastructure.
After the storm, NASA and SpaceX teams will assess the potential impact on the center and decide if the mission schedule needs to be further adjusted.
"Nasa's Crew-4 mission's undocking from the Space Station is being rescheduled day-to-day with the Crew-5 launch date to allow for a planned five-day direct transition between crews."
The "Crew-5" consists of the NASA astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann and her NASA colleague Josh Cassada as well as the Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and the Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.
You will spend around five months on board the ISS.
ani/dpa