(ORDO NEWS) — Tropical Storm Nicole hit central Florida on the morning of November 10, where a two-stage super-heavy Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle awaits the launch of an expedition to the moon.
The SLS rocket, topped by an Orion capsule, appears to have made it through the ordeal virtually unscathed, according to NASA officials.
“Our team is conducting initial visual inspections of the rocket, spacecraft, and ground system hardware using cameras at the launch pad,” Jim Free, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said on Twitter.
“The data from the cameras shows very minor damage, such as partial detachment of the sealed shell,” he added. “In the near future, our team will conduct additional checks of the rocket at the launch site.”
Sensors at the launch site picked up wind gusts of 132 kilometers per hour at a height of 18 meters as they passed the tropical storm rocket, Free said.
Let me remind you that the SLS is supposed to send the Orion spacecraft on an unmanned journey to lunar orbit and back.
NASA is preparing to launch a rocket into space as early as Wednesday (November 16). It is not yet clear if the storm has made any adjustments to these plans.
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