CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. AP - Hurricane Ian has prompting NASA to move its moon rocket off the launch pad and into shelter, adding weeks of delay to the lunar-orbiting test flight.
Mission managers decided Monday to return the rocket to the Kennedy Space Center hangar. The four-mile trip will start late Monday night and could take as long as 12 hours.
The space center remained on the fringes of the hurricane's cone of uncertainty. With the latest forecast showing no improvement, managers decided to play it safe. NASA had already delayed its planned launch attempt because of the approaching storm.
NASA isn't speculating when the next launch attempt will be, but it could be off until November. Managers will assess their options once the 322 foot 98 meter Space Launch System rocket is safely back in the hangar.
A pair of launch attempts were thwarted by hydrogen fuel leaks and other technical problems.
The 4.1 billion test flight will kick off NASA's return to the moon since the Apollo moonshots of the 1960 s and 1970 s. No one will be inside the crew capsule for the debut launch. The second mission in 2024 will be in the hands of astronomers, leading to a two-person moon landing in 2025.