NASA plans to launch a lunar rocket on Wednesday
The expected flight has been delayed three times
NASA said Friday it planned to reschedule the long-duration mission for next Wednesday after an inspection showed only minor damage from Hurricane Nicole's path through Florida.
Jim Free, a senior NASA official, told reporters that "nothing prevented" the flight that day, adding that NASA crews were able to access the launch pad on Thursday.
The launch of the most powerful heavy-lift rocket ever built by a NASA contractor will take place on Wednesday at 01:04 local time (0604 GMT) and will have a flight window of two hours.
The mission, dubbed Artemis 1, will bring the United States closer to fifty years since the last astronaut walked on the moon.
The rocket will lift the empty Orion crew capsule to the Moon without landing on the surface. If the launch goes as planned, the mission will last 25 and a half days before the capsule returns, landing in the Pacific Ocean on December 11.
However, the US space agency has "some work" ahead of launch, including fueling the shuttle and conducting some technical tests.
Damaged elements at the bottom of the rocket may need to be replaced.
The highly anticipated flight has been delayed three times in the past few months.
Free, who is NASA's associate administrator for the development of the exploration system, said the two reserves are scheduled for Nov. 19 and Nov. 25, if needed.
Winds from Hurricane Nicole, a Category 1 Hurricane, hit the rocket while standing on the runway at the Kennedy Space Center. However, the wind speed does not exceed the endurance of the vehicle, he said.
However, NASA said if it knew the storm was approaching, the SLS rocket would be left in the shuttle building.
The rocket was returned to the building in September to protect it from Hurricane Ian, but was brought to the runway a few days before Nicole's arrival.
Artemis 1 marks the launch of the flagship Artemis program, which aims to send the first woman and the first person of color to the Moon by 2025.
NASA wants to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon, including the construction of a space station in orbit around the Moon. This is seen as a step that could lead to their first trip to Mars.