NASA moon rocket on track for launch despite lightning hits

NASAs new moon rocket remained on track to blast off on a crucial test flight Monday despite a series of lightning strikes at the launch padThe 322foot 98metre Space Launch System rocket is the most powerful ever built by NASA Its poised to send an empty crew capsule into lunar orbit a halfcentury after NASAs Apollo programme which landed 12 astronauts on the moonAstronauts could return to the moon in a few years if this sixweek test flight goes well NASA officials caution however that the risks are high and the flight could be cut shortIn lieu of astronauts three test dummies are strapped into the Orion capsule to measure vibration acceleration and radiation one of the biggest hazards to humans in deep space The capsule alone has more than 1000 sensorsOfficials said Sunday that neither the rocket nor capsule suffered any damage during Saturdays thunderstorm ground equipment also was unaffected Five lightning strikes were confirmed hitting the 600foot towers surrounding the rocket at NASAs Kennedy Space Centre The strikes werent strong enough to warrant major retestingClearly the system worked as designed said Jeff Spaulding NASAs senior test directorAlso Read Gurugram BCA student electrician held for making threat calls to Congress MLAMore storms were expected Although forecasters gave 80 per cent odds of acceptable weather Monday morning conditions were expected to deteriorate during the twohour launch windowOn the technical side Spaulding said the team did its best over the past several months to eliminate any lingering fuel leaks A pair of countdown tests earlier this year prompted repairs to leaking valves and other faulty equipment engineers wont know if all the fixes are good until just a few hours before the planned liftoffAfter so many years of delays and setbacks the launch team was thrilled to finally be so close to the inaugural flight of the Artemis moonexploration programme named after Apollos twin sister in Greek mythologyAlso Read Twin Towers demolition Boundary wall of nearby society damagedWere within 24 hours of launch right now which is pretty amazing for where weve been on this journey Spaulding told reportersThe followon Artemis flight as early as 2024 would see four astronauts flying around the moon A landing could follow in 2025 NASA is targeting the moons unexplored south pole where permanently shadowed craters are believed to hold ice that could be used by future crewsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever