Faulty Valve Pushes Delta IV Rocket Launch To Wednesday

The planned launch next week of a Delta IV rocket and a new national weather satellite is being pushed back to Wednesday to allow technicians to replace a faulty steering valve on one of the rocket's solid-fueled boosters.

The 24-story United Launch Alliance rocket and its payload -- a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) spacecraft built by the Boeing Co. -- now is targeted to blast off from Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station during an hour-long window that will open at 6:18 p.m.

A cold front and rainy weather associated with it are expected to clear through the area by Wednesday, and meteorologists say there is an 80 percent chance conditions will be acceptable for flight.

The launch had been scheduled for Tuesday, and the forecast for launch that day called for an 80 percent chance conditions would have prompted a launch scrub.

The problem with the steering thruster popped up during routine closeout activities on Friday. The effort to remove and replace the faulty valve and other prelaunch work prompted the one-day delay.