United Launch Alliance will count down today to a second attempt to launch a powerful Delta IV Heavy rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and while the weather forecast has degraded slightly, meteorologists still think conditions will be acceptable for a launch this evening.
The 23-story rocket and a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload are slated to blast off from Launch Complex 37 at 5:58 p.m. The end of the launch window is classified. But a notice to mariners issued by the Air Force 45th Space Wing establishes a launch hazard area off the coast between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m.The weather forecast calls for an 80 percent chance conditions will be acceptable for an on time liftoff. That's down from 90 percent. Coastal showers and the chance of thick electrically charged clouds are the prime concerns.
An initial countdown Friday was scrapped when engineers detected anomalous readings from temperature sensors during the loading of supercold propellant into the vehicle. Faulty sensors were found and replaced, clearing the way for the launch attempt tonight.
The launch will be only the fourth for the Delta IV Heavy. A flight demonstration was launched in December 2004. The first two operational flights were launched in November 2007 and January 2009.
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