The cold weather on the East Coast continues to cause problems, this time for NASA and its planned launch of the Artemis II mission, which will take astronauts around the Moon. Originally scheduled for February 6th, the mission is being delayed two more days until February 8th to allow NASA more time for its wet dress rehearsal, otherwise known as its comprehensive pre-launch check. In the meantime, the four astronauts assigned to the mission will remain in quarantine.
Earlier today, NASA stated:
Over the past several days, engineers have been closely monitoring conditions as cold weather and winds move through Florida. Managers have assessed hardware capabilities against the projected forecast given the rare arctic outbreak affecting the state and decided to change the timeline. Teams and preparations at the launch pad remain ready for the wet dress rehearsal. However, adjusting the timeline for the test will position NASA for success during the rehearsal, as the expected weather this weekend would violate launch conditions.
It has already been an unusual winter, so none of this is a great surprise.
Fingers crossed for some warmer weather so NASA can complete this mission and then eventually land humans on the Moon once again with the next mission – Artemis III.
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