An exact liftoff time for the planned launch Tuesday of a top-secret mission aboard a Delta IV Heavy rocket will be announced later today, but the weather forecast for flight is a bit iffy.The United Launch Alliance rocket and a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload are slated to blast off from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station between 7 p.m. Tuesday and midnight Wednesday.
The U.S. Air Force and the NRO are expected to release the T-zero time at 4 p.m. today, and we'll update The Flame Trench when the launch time is made public. We'll also have updates throughout the day Tuesday and webcast live video coverage of the launch beginning 25 minutes prior to liftoff.
Mission managers, meanwhile, will be keeping close tabs on the weather. Air Force meteorologists issued a forecast today that calls for a 60 percent chance that conditions will force a delay.
You can read the full details in this official report from the Air Force 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron: Delta IV Launch Weather.
Bottom line: Thick clouds and high winds could violate launch rules.
ABOUT THE IMAGE: Click to enlarge the United Launch Alliance photo of a Delta IV Heavy rocket being rolled out of its integration facility at Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station prior to a previous launch. Photo credit: ULA/Pat Corkery.
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