Georgia Gov. Kemp holds a press conference as Tropical Storm Ian approaches.
Tropical Depression Nicole has put a damper on NASA and SpaceX’s plans to launch its 26th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station, forcing it to push back the date to November 21.
SpaceX, which is led by billionaire and new Twitter owner Elon Musk, originally aimed to launch its Dragon cargo spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 18, but the arrival of now tropical depression Nicole, space agencies are considering a date no earlier than November 21.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, April 27, 2022. NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines and Jessica Watkins, and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristofore (AP Photo/John Raoux/AP Newsroom)
Nicole made landfall just south of Vero Beach, Florida with sustained winds of 75 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
NICOLE LEAVES MORE THAN 330,000 FLORIDA CUSTOMERS WITHOUT POWER
He was blamed for the deaths of at least two people, according to Fox Weather, who were electrocuted when they encountered a downed power line in Orlando.
The storm brought powerful waves along Florida’s east coast, causing significant erosion and causing several buildings to collapse.
People brave the rain and high winds to tour the waterfront along Jensen Beach Causeway as conditions deteriorate as Hurricane Nicole approaches. ((AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)/AP Newsroom)
Coastal flooding has also been an issue with TropicalDepression Nicole. In fact, a NOAA tide gauge in Port Canaveral, Florida recorded a surge of 3.6 above mean high tide on Thursday morning.
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On Thursday evening, the center of the tropical cyclone was 40 miles southeast of Tallahassee, Florida, and had sustained winds of 40 mph.
As the storm heads north, NASA and SpaceX can begin preparations for their resupply mission later this month.
The cargo will include a lunar microscope, which NASA says is a portable microscope that allows astronauts to take a blood sample and obtain images that can be sent to surgeons on the ground to diagnose illnesses.
The Dragon will also send new science experiments, supplies and equipment for the crew, including a study to grow dwarf tomatoes in space.
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