Blogger update, 3:55 p.m.: T minus three hours, 35 minutes...no update yet on whether the valve issue has been resolved or when fueling will begin.Countdown to today's planned 7:45 p.m. launch of a Delta 4 Heavy rocket is at T minus five hours and counting.
One 15-minute countdown hold is planned at T minus five minutes. The targeted liftoff time opens a four-hour launch window.
Launch controllers said they were working an issue with a gaseous nitrogen relief valve that would not interrupt the countdown, but they would not begin loading the three boosters' liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuels until the launch pad was clear - expected around 3:30 p.m.
The heavy-lift rocket, making just its second operational flight, is carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
IMAGE NOTE: Click on the image to enlarge it. A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rests on its launch pad today at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 37. Photo credit: ULA/Pat Corkery.
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