However, on November 8, NASA said that it was postponing the launch until at least until November 16 because of Tropical Storm Nicole, which is anticipated to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane along Florida's Atlantic coastline in the coming days. Despite a hurricane warning for the space centre, NASA is leaving the rocket on the launch pad. According to NASA, the rocket is built to resist strong winds and rain.
Before astronauts board in a few years, the $4.1 billion mission will carry an empty crew capsule around the moon and back as a flight test. To put people back on the moon by 2025, NASA has taken its largest move to date. The last time the space agency sent a person to the moon was with Apollo 17 in December 1972, which will soon be 50 years old.
On November 8, Tropical Storm Nicole churned toward the western Bahamas and the Atlantic coastline of Florida, and forecasts believed it would soon become a hurricane.
Several watches and advisories are still in effect. Hurricane Ian, which struck Florida's southwest Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm in late September before dumping copious quantities of rain throughout much of the state's central region, left many communities still reeling from its effects. Forecasters warned that places still recovering from Ian's flooding could get significant rain.
The highly anticipated moon rocket launch scheduled for next week will be delayed two days, until November 16, according to NASA. Before astronauts embark in a few years, the 322-foot rocket will conduct a dramatic flight test by sending an empty crew capsule around the moon and back. However, the hurricane had little effect on the November 8 election in Florida.
(With agency inputs)
