Hurricane Ian made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a harmful Class 4 storm on Wednesday as NASA watched stay from orbit.
NASA cameras on the Worldwide Area Station confirmed stay views Hurricane Ian because the storm reached the Florida coast Wednesday (Sept. 28), coming ashore close to Cayo Costa, in keeping with the Nationwide Hurricane Middle.
“Hurricane Ian has made landfall as an especially harmful hurricane close to Cayo Costa, Florida with most sustained winds at 150 mph,” NHC officers wrote (opens in new tab) in an replace on Twitter at 3:05 p.m. EDT (1905 GMT).
NASA went stay with its views of Hurricane Ian from the area station simply minutes earlier than the NHC report. The video stream confirmed glimpses of the hurricane from an altitude of about 250 miles (400 kilometers) because the station soared by at 17,500 mph (28,000 kph).
Associated: Monstrous Hurricane Ian threatens ‘catastrophic’ devastation in Florida
Astronauts on the area station have additionally been monitoring Hurricane Ian. They captured gorgeous views of the storm on Monday (Sept. 26) because the storm was simply south of Cuba because it headed for Florida. NASA launched the pictures (opens in new tab) on Wednesday night.
As of two p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) Wednesday, Hurricane Ian was shifting towards the north-northeast at about 9 mph (15 kph) and was anticipated to make a flip to the northeast on Thursday, in keeping with the NHC.
“On the forecast observe, the middle of Ian is predicted to maneuver onshore quickly, transfer over central Florida tonight and Thursday morning and emerge over the western Atlantic by late Thursday,” they wrote in a day replace (opens in new tab). “Ian is forecast to show northward on Friday and strategy the northeastern Florida coast along with the Georgia and South Carolina coasts late Friday.”
Within the days earlier than Hurricane Ian’s landfall, Florida state officers ordered evacuations for residents alongside coastal areas within the storm’s path. NASA additionally postponed plans to launch its Artemis 1 mission to the moon on the primary Area Launch System rocket, opting as a substitute to maneuver the large, 322-foot-tall (98 meters) rocket into the shelter of its hangar on the Kennedy Area Middle in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
NASA and SpaceX additionally delayed the launch of a brand new crew to the Worldwide Area Station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. That mission, which can carry two American astronauts, a Japanese astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut, is now scheduled to raise off from Pad 39A on the Kennedy Area Middle no sooner than Oct. 4, a one-day slip.
A restricted “ride-out” crew is staffing the Kennedy Area Middle to make sure the protection of NASA’s spacecraft {hardware} and techniques. On the close by Cape Canaveral Area Pressure Station, the U.S. Area Pressure additionally took precautions to safeguard the station for the arrival of Hurricane Ian, which ought to attain the 2 spaceports by Thursday.
“As Hurricane Ian intensifies and folk put together for its affect, I am pondering of our NASA workforce and households in Florida, particularly these on the NASA Kennedy ride-out group,” NASA chief Invoice Nelson wrote on Twitter (opens in new tab) Wednesday afternoon. “Thanks on your dedication. Know that NASA will do all the things to make sure your security and wellbeing.”
E-mail Tariq Malik at tmalik@area.com (opens in new tab) or observe him @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Comply with us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), Fb (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).