The Artemis rocket was supposed to be launched right now (3rd attempt), but was once again subjected to abortion care. What’s the principal reason given for the abortion care? “to protect our employees”:
From “NASA to Roll Artemis I Rocket and Spacecraft Back to VAB Tonight” (nasa.gov):
The decision allows time for employees to address the needs of their families
I.e., employees who live and work on Florida’s east coast have to address the needs of their families who live on Florida’s east coast… because a(n admittedly potentially severe) hurricane is forecast to hit Florida’s west coast, more than 100 miles away, roughly 48 hours after the previously scheduled launch.
In case Minitrue deletes the above, a screen shot:
If they launched the rocket today, everyone would have to stay on the job who was going to be involved in the mission post-launch. So I guess they decided to stand down and let the hurricane pass and then launch the mission.
Also, I think there is the silent force of “Optics” going on here – the rest of this week’s news is already being blocked out for Hurricane DeSantis coverage. Trying to mix the Artemis mission into that, well, it’s a chore.
It was rolled back to protect the rocket, but NASA is run by career politicians who know nothing about rockets.
Don’t get me started on the Senate Launch System. The USA would be way ahead if the whole program were blown away.