A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket has another optimistic weather forecast for tonight's fourth launch attempt. There's a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions for the planned 11 p.m. blastoff from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The launch window extends to 11:19 p.m.
Atop the 206-foot rocket is the first in a new generation of 12 Global Positioning System satellites, part of a $1.6 billion Air Force program.
Over time, the new satellites should improve the accuracy of navigation and time information used for military operations and a wide range of civilian purposes, from directions for drivers to cell phone networks to financial transactions.
Preparations to fuel the rocket's first and second stages with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen should begin around 4:30 p.m.
We'll have live coverage of the countdown here starting around 5 p.m. You can also sign up for text message alerts here.
Technical glitches have scrubbed three prior launch attempts on Friday, Sunday and Monday.
IMAGE: A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket with the Air Force's Global Positioning System GPS IIF SV-1 (GPS IIF SV-1) satellite sits poised on its Space Launch Complex-37 launch pad ready to launch tonight. Credit: Pat Corkery, ULA.
4 comments:
Weather has been great each night. Let just hope the engineers don't have any glitches that pop up again.
The last countdown ended pretty dramaticaly but I still haven't heard why it was aborted 6 seconds before launch.
John from England..
Would nice if more information was given when launch is scrubbed .. ie: change the colour of the lights ... in the sky.
Otherwise .. someone tell the President : We miss the Concord aircraft .. don't do this with the shuttle.
Launch was scrubbed do to some out of spec readings provided by the TVC System on one of the solid boosters.
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