NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is preparing for Hurricane Dorian, which may hit the state sometime next week, by protecting its Mobile Launcher currently undergoing testing on a launch pad, Space.com reports.
The Mobile Launcher, which is now being tested as part of the Artemis program that seeks to bring astronauts to the moon again in 2024, is a tower that supports the Space Launch System megarocket while on the launchpad. It may have to be moved because of the storm.
"We have a hurricane, which is forecast to come to Florida," NASA's Derrol Nail said in a video, "and so this particular launch tower, which is 400 feet tall, is obviously at risk of being damaged by a hurricane if it makes a hit in this area."
Since the tower is so tall, NASA determined that the storm is enough of a threat to make moving the Mobile Launcher into the Vehicle Assembly Building, a 52-story structure, necessary.
Dorian is currently crossing the Caribbean Sea and is expected to head north-northwest this Friday before crossing the northern Bahamas this weekend, and may reach Florida on Monday. The agency already has moved the massive crawler-transporter, which rolls at a rate of about 1 mph, to Launch Complex 39B to get it inside.
A spokesperson for the private spaceflight company SpaceX told Space.com that they are also taking procedures to ensure safety at its Florida facility.
"In coordination with our partners at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center, we are closely monitoring weather conditions and planning to take all necessary precautions to protect our employees and safeguard facilities in the potentially affected areas," the spokesperson said.
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