NASA Conducting Post-Hurricane Facilities Analysis, Hopes To Launch Europa Clipper On Sunday

The launch schedule for the Europa Clipper mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy remains uncertain today after Hurricane Milton’s passing through the Space Coast region.

Effects of Hurricane Milton

Originally scheduled to launch on October 10, the launch was postponed in advance of Hurricane Milton’s approach and the payload and rocket were both secured for the approaching storm.

Today, a little more than a day after Milton’s surviving eye wall passed through the Space Coast region, NASA and SpaceX are checking for damage to the facilities on the base.

According to NASA, “Once the winds subsided to a safe level [yesterday], the center’s Ride Out Team and engineering teams began initial checkouts to ensure bridges are safe and useable. Later, a larger assessment team will thoroughly check the entire center.”

Part of that check will of course be the LC-39A infrastructure used to launch Falcon Heavy, as well as other buildings and infrastructure necessary to support the launch. That will also include areas not on Kennedy Space Center proper, for example, the Space Launch Delta 45 supports launch tracking, safety and weather, and they too much give the all-clear prior to a launch. (UPDATE: Space Launch Delta 45 issued an all-clear at 2PM October 11)

The eye of the storm went offshore somewhere near Titusville and Kennedy Space Center about 4 AM EDT on Thursday, but the region continued to experience sustained winds well into the day before finally subsiding late in the afternoon.

Extremely Tentative Plans For Sunday

Neither NASA nor SpaceX have officially announced a launch date for Europa Clipper, with NASA saying yesterday that “The agency’s Europa Clipper launch team will schedule an official launch date when teams from NASA and SpaceX are able to perform their assessments, and confirm it’s safe to launch. Teams are working to protect launch opportunities no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 13.”

The agency added that the launch window for this mission extends until November 6th.

Weather should not be a problem for the launch team from Sunday onward into next week, as the general weather forecast for the region calls for sunny skies.

Launch Licensing?

The FAA currently has a hold on the Falcon family launches while the company investigates a second-stage anomaly with Crew 9, but that will not be a problem for this launch as it will be licensed by NASA.

Talk of Titusville reached out to the FAA for clarification, and they replied, “An FAA license is not required for space activities the government carries out for the government, such as some NASA or Department of Defense launches. The Europa Clipper mission is being done by and for NASA.”

As such the FAA’s required investigation will not be a factor for this launch.

Update 7PM EDT 11 OCT 24: Falcon 9 Has Been Cleared For Flight By FAA. This should answer any license questions about Falcon Heavy as well.