The Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft, integrated for the Artemis II mission, are seen at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Friday.MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP/Getty Images
A cold snap is expected to drive night-time temperatures at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center well below freezing on Saturday night, forcing the U.S. space agency to adjust its schedule for the launch of Artemis II.
On Friday, NASA announced that weather-related delays in advance of the mission to fly four astronauts – including Canada’s Jeremy Hansen – around the moon, have eliminated the possibility of a launch attempt on either Feb. 6 or 7, the first two available opportunities for the mission to depart.
Under a revised schedule, Artemis II will not lift off any sooner than Sunday Feb. 8, at 11:20 p.m. EST. It could also launch in the early morning hours of Feb. 10 or 11.
If all three of those dates are missed, the moon will no longer be in an optimal position for the lunar flight and the rocket’s departure will shift to the next launch window, which opens in early March.
NASA readies for historic Artemis II flight around the moon
The SLS rocket that is designed to send the crew of Artemis II on their way to the moon rolled out to its launch pad two weeks ago.
At that time, NASA’s newly installed administrator Jared Isaacman said that the target launch date for the mission would only be determined after a “wet” dress rehearsal during which the crewless rocket is loaded with fuel and then taken through a countdown until 29 seconds to launch.
Earlier this week, plans were proceeding towards a wet dress rehearsal on Saturday.
However, by Friday all of central Florida, including Cape Canaveral, where the launch site is located, was under an extreme cold and freeze warning issued by the U.S. National Weather Service.
In its announcement, NASA said the weather would “violate launch conditions” and so it has targeted Monday for the dress rehearsal. It was this change that shifted the earliest possible launch date.
Currently, Col. Hansen and his three U.S. crew mates — commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch — remain in Houston and under quarantine ahead of their historic mission.
On Friday NASA said it is assessing the timeline for crew’s arrival in Florida.
Moon revisited: NASA scientists prepare to unleash the human element
Artemis II will mark the first crewed mission for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule following an uncrewed test flight in 2022. It is also the first trip to space for Col. Hansen and the first flight around the moon for any astronauts since 1972.
The primary goal of the mission is to test the capsule’s systems and pave the way for a future lunar landing.
As preparations for launch continue, flight managers also said on Friday that they have worked out a plan for avoiding a schedule clash between Artemis II and SpaceX Crew-12, a four person team heading to the International Space Station that is also launching from the Kennedy Space Center in February.
According to the plan, if Artemis II is able to lift on Feb. 8, the SpaceX launch will be held until the 10-day lunar mission is concluded.
Alternatively, if a technical issue arises during Monday’s dress rehearsal and Artemis II is not able to fly in February, the Space launch could take place as early as Feb. 11.
“Our teams have worked very carefully to see how we can keep moving toward launch for both missions while at the same time making sure we avoid any major conflicts,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s space operations mission directorate, during a press briefing on Friday.
While Artemis II has been given priority, the SpaceX mission also has some urgency to it.
Currently there are two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut on board the station, which is less than the typical complement. Earlier this month a previous crew departed the station ahead of schedule because of a medical issue.
“There’s just fewer hands on board to do some of the work,” said Dina Contella, the station’s deputy program manager.
She added that while the station has sometimes had only one U.S. astronaut on board in the past, NASA prefers to have more than that in case of an emergency that calls for specialized training or for measures that a single astronaut cannot carry out alone.