--- title: "NASA Launch Pad Sustained Significant Damage During Artemis Takeoff" description: "It appears that NASA's Artemis 1 rocket launchpad caught way more damage than expected when it finally took off from Kennedy Space Center last week. " date: "2022-11-21" modified: "2022-11-21" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-artemis-launchpad-damage" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "artemis" - "NASA" - "sls" - "the digest" --- # NASA Launch Pad Sustained Significant Damage During Artemis Takeoff ![It appears that NASA's Artemis 1 rocket launchpad caught way more damage than expected when it finally took off from Kennedy Space Center last week. ]() *\Image: NASA/Joel Kowsky\* ## Damages It appears that NASA's Artemis 1 rocket launch pad caught way more damage than expected when it finally took off from Kennedy Space Center last week. As *Reuters* space reporter [Joey Roulette tweeted](), a source within the agency said that damage to the launchpad "exceeded mission management’s expectations," and per his description, it sounds fairly severe. "Elevator blast doors were blown right off, various pipes were broken, some large sheets of metal left laying around," the *Reuters* reporter noted in response to *SpaceNews*' Jeff Foust, who on [Friday summarized a NASA statement]() conceding that the launchpad's elevators weren't working because a "pressure wave" blew off the blast doors. ## Trickle Down The Artemis 1 launch was preceded by a years-long trickle of drama, ranging from the long-delayed development of the Space Launch System that boosted it into space to the craft [suffering damage from a hurricane]() just prior to launch. Shortly after the launch, [NASA acknowledged that debris was seen falling off]() the rocket, though officials maintain that it caused "no additional risk" to the mission. In spite of those sanguine claims, however, reporters revealed that NASA seemed *very* intent on them [not photographing the Artemis launch tower]() — and now, with these preliminary reports about how messed up it seems to have gotten, we may know why. We don't yet know how extensive the launch tower damage is, though we have reached out to NASA for comment about it. Luckily, it wasn't bad enough to preclude the Orion capsule from being successfully launched into space and to begin [taking selfies]() and [photos of the Moon](), at very least. The real question? How any of this will affect future launches of the SLS, which is supposed to send American astronauts back to the Moon in just a few years. **More on NASA:** [*NASA Adjusting James Webb Orbit to Get Damaged by Meteorites Less*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()