Nasa moon rocket on track for launch despite lightning hits

Nasa’s new moon rocket remained on track to blast off on a crucial test flight on Monday, despite a series of lightning strikes at the launch pad.

The 98-metre Space Launch System rocket is the most powerful ever built by Nasa. It’s poised to send an empty crew capsule into lunar orbit, a half-century after Nasa’s Apollo programme, which landed 12 astronauts on the moon.

Astronauts could return to the moon in a few years, if this six-week test flight goes well. Nasa officials caution, however, that the risks are high and the flight could be cut short.

In lieu of astronauts, three test dummies are strapped into the Orion capsule to measure vibration, acceleration and radiation, one of the biggest hazards to humans in deep space. The capsule alone has more than 1,000 sensors.

Officials said on Sunday that neither the rocket nor capsule suffered any damage during Saturday’s thunderstorm; ground equipment also was unaffected. Five lightning strikes were confirmed, hitting the 183-metre towers surrounding the rocket at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center. The strikes weren’t strong enough to warrant major retesting.

“Clearly, the system worked as designed,” said Jeff Spaulding, Nasa's senior test director.

The follow-on Artemis flight, as early as 2024, would see four astronauts flying around the moon. A landing could follow in 2025. Nasa is targeting the moon’s unexplored south pole, where permanently shadowed craters are believed to hold ice that could be used by future crews.