Live At The Cape: Data Review Delays Delta II Launch

The planned launch of a Delta II rocket and two missile defense satellites will slip at least a day due to potential technical problems with the tandem spacecraft, officials said today.

The 12-story United Launch Alliance rocket and its payload -- a pair of technology demonstrators owned by the Missile Defense Agency -- had been slated to blast off from Launch Complex 17 at 8 a.m. Saturday. But officials with the Missile Defense Agency asked for more time for a data review. The exact nature of the review is unclear.

The launch at this point has not been officially delayed. But certain pre-launch milestones have been delayed at least a day, making a launch attempt on Saturday highly unlikely.

A launch on Sunday would be targeted for 8 a.m. The window would extend about an hour. The weather forecast for Sunday calls for a 60 percent chance that conditions will be acceptable for launch.

Check out the Official Forecast from the Air Force 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron. The wing provides tracking, range safety and weather forecasting services for all launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The Missile Defense Agency data review prompted officials to cancel a countdown dress rehearsal that had been scheduled to take place today. The fueling of the Delta II's second stage also was delayed, and the Launch Readiness Review -- which had been scheduled for Thursday -- also is being pushed back.

The delay is the second this week. The launch at one point had been slated for Friday, but stormy weather last weekend delayed the encapsulation of the spacecraft in the payload fairing of the Delta II rocket.

The prototype spacecraft will sensors that are designed to not only track enemy missiles during the boost phase but pass tracking data directly to missile defense interceptors with the accuracy and timeliness necessary to enable them to intercept and destroy the enemy missiles.

Officials with the Missile Defense Agency say the spacecraft are expected to yield the data and information required to field an operations set of satellites as a key component of the nation's Ballistic Missile Defense System.

Check out an official Missile Defense Agency Space Tracking and Surveillance System Fact Sheet.

The launch is being managed by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency. The Delta II launch services were procured from United Launch Alliance, which operates both the Delta and Atlas fleets of expendable launch vehicles.

ABOUT THE IMAGES: Click to enlarge the NASA images of the Delta II rocket being readied for flight at Launch Complex 17 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller.