NASA: Artemis is still a go despite several lightning strikes near the launchpad
Sabrina Maggiore,Matt Reeser
·2 min read
NASA officials said things appear to be on schedule for Monday’s launch of Artemis I, despite some tense moments after several lightning strikes near the launch pad Saturday afternoon.
Crews worked throughout the night testing systems on the SLS and other parts of the spacecraft, ensuring there wasn’t any damage.
NASA test director Jeff Spalding said the 600-foot lightning towers near the launch pad did their job, keeping lightning away from the rocket and spacecraft.
“Clearly the system worked as designed,” Spaulding said.
Overnight, we powered-up @NASA_SLS’s core stage components for the #Artemis I launch, including the avionics boxes located inside the core stage. The boxes are connected to various sensors and flight computers to command and control the rocket during tanking, liftoff, and ascent. pic.twitter.com/Bhk4qkWENW
He said at least five separate hits near the pad during Saturday’s storms caused some concerns but after running several tests, crews found the hits weren’t strong enough to delay a launch Monday.
“We have a threshold that we look at to see what the magnitude of these strikes are and we did not meet that criteria to have to do an intensive or invasive retest,” Spaulding said.
The Artemis I mission is set to launch with a two-hour window scheduled to open at 8:33 a.m.
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