WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2022) Artemis 1 mission engineers were confident their unmanned first test launch of a giant rocket to orbit the Moon will go ahead on September 27 as scheduled speaking at a news conference on Friday, but they also cautioned that Tropical Depression Nine now approaching Florida could once again delay the launch.
"We are tracking no technical constraints," to delay the launch on Tuesday, September 27, NASA Exploration Ground Systems Program Deputy Manager Jeremy Parsons told reporters. However, he continued, "Our biggest concern is weather ... There is a 15% chance of lightning within 5 nautical miles."
In addition, Tropical Depression Nine, which is gathering strength in the Atlantic Ocean and moving toward the coast of Florida, has introduced an element of uncertainty into launch calculations, NASA officials acknowledged. They said they would decide on Saturday whether or not to delay the launch because of the worsening weather conditions.
"We're just taking it a step at a time," NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration systems told the news conference."
Tropical Depression Nine formed in the Caribbean Sea on Friday and it could hit the Florida coast as a Category 3 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center on Friday morning announced the depression was still 515 miles east-southeast of Jamaica and was moving in a west-northwest direction at 15 miles per hour.
