NASA Moon Rocket on Track for Launch Despite Lightning Hits

Storm clouds roll in over the NASA moon rocket as it stands ready for launch on Pad 39B for the Artemis 1 mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 27, 2022. John Raoux/AP Photo

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

The 322-foot (98-meter) 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 program, which landed 12 astronauts on the moon.