Following several repairs amid reports of fuel leaks, NASA's Artemis I mega moon rocket is back on the launchpad on Friday (local time) ahead of the third launch attempt, said officials.
The space agency gears up for another attempt to get the Artemis I mission off the ground. The uncrewed test mission is slated for November 14, with a 69-minute launch window that opens at 12:07 a.m. ET. The launch will stream live on NASA's website, reported CNN.
Fuel leaks have kept the rocket grounded since August. The rocket had been stowed away for weeks after issues with fuel leaks that thwarted the first two launch attempts and then a hurricane Ian rolled through Florida, forcing the rocket to vacate the launchpad and head for safety.
The Space Launch System rocket began the hours-long process of trekking 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from its indoor shelter to Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida late Thursday evening. It arrived at its destination nearly 9 hours later, reported CNN.
The Artemis team again is monitoring a storm that could be heading toward Florida, but officials felt confident to move ahead with the rollout, according to Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.
The unnamed storm could develop near Puerto Rico over the weekend and will slowly move northwest early next week, said meteorologist Mark Burger, the launch weather officer with the US Air Force at Cape Canaveral.
It is NASA's most significant step to get astronauts back on the moon by 2025. The space agency is nearing the 50th anniversary of its last human moon landing: Apollo 17 in December 1972.
The Artemis I mission is expected to pave the way for other missions to the moon. After
Read more on tech.hindustantimes.com