That’s why launch pads have lightning towers.
Lightning crackled today (August 27) over Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which will host the agency’s highly anticipated liftoff Artemis 1 lunar mission Monday morning (August 29).
Bolts approached stack Artemis 1 – one Space Launch System (SLS) mega-rocket topped with an Orion crew capsule – with three Pad 39B light towers.
Related: NASA’s Artemis 1 Lunar Mission: Live Updates
After: NASA’s Artemis 1 lunar mission explained in photos
Lightning strikes next to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center moments ago as NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Artemis I await launch Monday during a two-hour window opening at 8:33 a.m. EDT. pic.twitter.com/UsfBX1Q2u8August 27, 2022
There is no cause for alarm; the towers were doing their job, keeping dangerous strikes away from valuable spaceflight hardware. One of 39B’s three towers was similar hit in early April during an Artemis 1 resupply test, for example, and the SLS and Orion emerged unscathed.
In a blog post update (opens in a new tab) tonight, NASA officials said today’s three strikes were likely “low in magnitude”. Still, the agency is investigating whether they may have affected the Artemis 1 stack or Pad 39B.
“A weather team has begun an assessment that includes collecting voltage and current data, as well as imagery,” NASA officials wrote in the update. “The data will be shared with a team of electromagnetic environment experts who will determine if any constraints on vehicles or ground systems have been violated. Engineers will conduct a field visit tonight and, if necessary, perform additional assessments with subsystem experts.”
Artemis 1 is NASA’s first mission Artemis lunar exploration program, as well as the first flight of the SLS. The powerful rocket will launch Orion on an uncrewed mission to lunar orbit that will last six weeks from liftoff to landing. The main objective is to demonstrate that the two vehicles are ready to launch astronauts towards the moon and other deep space destinations.
The weather isn’t great on the Space Coast today, as the lightning flashes show. But it’s expected to clear up considerably by launch day; meteorologists with the United States space force say there’s a 70% chance that Mother Nature will cooperate on Monday morning.
However, if weather or technical issues negate this liftoff attempt, NASA has two backup opportunities in the current launch window to fire – Sept. 2 and Sept. 5.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 6:45 p.m. EDT August 27 to include information from the NASA blog update.
Mike Wall is the author of “The low (opens in a new tab)(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in a new tab). Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab) Or on Facebook (opens in a new tab).