The Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft sits on Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center ahead of a second launch attempt on Sept.
3, 2022. (Image: NASA) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - After completing a fueling test of its mega moon rocket earlier this week, NASA engineers now have to contend with Tropical Depression Nine that appears to be aimed at Florida during the next launch attempt.NASA managers said despite the tropics, they are waiting for forecast models to improve enough to make a call on whether to roll back the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.For now, Plan A is to forge ahead with a launch attempt on Tuesday during a 70-minute window opening at 11:37 a.m.
ET.The moon rocket is vertical at Kennedy Space Center launchpad 39B on Florida's east coast, awaiting a third launch attempt.After two previous scrubs due to unruly hydrogen leaks and an engine cooling issue, NASA fueled the SLS with more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant during a test Monday to determine if engineers had resolved the problems.Overall, NASA management called the test a success.Artemis I Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said the tanking test, "went really well," and NASA’s Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development Jim Free tweeted the team achieved, "all four test objectives," and used new propellant loading procedures.NASA is hoping to launch on Sept.
27 at 11:37 a.m. EDT. However, that launch window was not entirely up to the space agency. NASA first needed approval from the Space Force, which oversees the Eastern Range, to extend the Flight Termination System certification due to safety requirements.