CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's new moon rocket remains on track for a Monday liftoff, despite a series of lightning strikes at the launch pad.
Officials said Sunday that neither the rocket nor ground equipment suffered any damage.
Five lightning strikes were confirmed Saturday, hitting the 600-foot towers surrounding the rocket at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The 322-foot rocket is the most powerful ever built by NASA.
It's poised to send an empty crew capsule into lunar orbit, 50 years after NASA's Apollo program. Astronauts could return to the moon in a few years if this six-week test flight goes well.
