Live at the Cape: Delta launch preps in work

LIVE IMAGES: Refresh this page to see the latest pictures of the Delta 2 on the pad at Complex 17 and the launch.

A team of contractor engineers and technicians are preparing a Delta 2 rocket for a planned launch Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The 12-story rocket and its payload -- a Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite -- are scheduled to blast off from Launch Complex 17A during a window that will extend from 2:59 p.m. to 3:13 p.m. Thursday.

The weather forecast for launch is favorable. Air Force meteorologists say there is an 80 percent chance that conditions will be acceptable for flight.

You can see the latest forecast from the Air Force 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron here: Delta Weather Forecast.

Mission managers will meet today in a traditional launch readiness review, and engineers will make final preparations for fuel-loading operations. The Mobile Service Tower will be backed away from the rocket early Thursday, and the terminal countdown will begin at 11:59 a.m.

You can see detailed timelines for the countdown and the mission here in this 22-page United Launch Alliance Mission Book.

We'll have countdown updates here in The Flame Trench as well as a live webcast of United Launch Alliance launch coverage beginning at 2:40 p.m. Thursday.

The 45th Space Wing, which provides range safety services for all Space Coast launches, are asking mariners and aviators to remain clear of a launch danger zone off the coast and restricted airspace around the Cape between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday. Violators can be fined up to $50,000.

A map showing the Launch Hazard Area is here: Delta LHA.

A map showing the restricted airspace is here: Restricted Airspace

The launch will be the 13th and final mission of the year for United Launch Alliance, a joint venture partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin that marries the Delta and Atlas rocket families. The alliance employs 4,300 in four states, including 812 here on the Space Coast. Some 588 of those people work on the Delta 2 and Delta 4 rocket programs.