Stay here for updates on today's planned launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying two NASA satellites bound for the moon.The Atlas V is targeting a 5:12 p.m. liftoff from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Two more one-second opportunities follow at 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m.
An Air Force forecast forecast issued Wednesday offered a 60-percent chance of good launch conditions, with some concern about thunderstroms developing in the afternoon.
We'll offer blog updates throughout the day and show live NASA launch commentary, which begins at 2 p.m. Simply click the NASA TV box on the righthand side of this page to launch our NASA TV viewer, and be sure to refresh this page for periodic updates.
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The rocket is carrying NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which will map the lunar surface in the highest detail yet. A secondary payload will tow the rocket's Centaur upper stage for four months, before steering it into an October collision with a permanently shadowed crater on the moon's south pole.
The spacecraft - called the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite - will fly through the resulting dust plume in an effort to detect water ice. It will crash four minutes after the Centaur.
The Atlas V was rolled to its launch pad around 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The Air Force has advised boaters to avoid a restricted area between 3:15 p.m. and 6 p.m. or face a fine of up to $50,000. Check out this map showing the hazard area and read the advisory here.
And click here to see a map of restricted airspace.
IMAGE NOTE: Above, an United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is positioned on its pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41. Below, the Atlas V, carrying NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, rolls out from its Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Photo by Pat Corkery, ULA.
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