Launch Forecast 70 Percent 'Go' On Friday

Final preparations for the roll out of an Atlas V rocket are under way today at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as NASA and United Launch Alliance gear up for launch Friday of a $1.1 billion mission to Jupiter.

The powerful Atlas V rocket and its payload -- NASA's Juno spacecraft -- are slated to blast off at 11:34 a.m. Friday at Launch Complex 41. The window on Friday will extend to 12:43 p.m.

The weather forecast calls for a 70 percent chance conditions will be acceptable for launch. However, launch managers are keeping close tabs on Tropical Storm Emily, which now is located about 1,000 miles southeast of the launch complex. The storm is expected to sweep east of the coast of Cape Canaveral on Saturday, driving up the probability of a launch weather violation significantly. Forecasters say there is a 60 percent chance that weather would not be acceptable for a launch Saturday. The outlook for Sunday returns to a 70 percent probability of acceptable launch weather.

You can read the detailed forecast from the Air Force 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron HERE

Click on the image to enlarge the storm plot.