Delta IV Rocket Ready For Pre-Launch Fuel-Loading Operations

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket is ready to be fueled at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for the planned launch tonight of a new national weather satellite.

The 224-foot-tall rocket and its payload -- a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite known as GOES-P -- remain scheduled to blast off from Launch Complex 37B at the beginning of a one-hour launch window that will open at 6:17 p.m.

The weather forecast for launch remains favorable. Meteorologists say there is a 90 percent chance conditions will be acceptable for flight. But forecasters are keeping close tabs on strong ground winds, which are approaching limits, and winds aloft. Launch Weather Officer Joel Tumbiolo is forecasting 130 knot winds at 35,000 to 45,000 feet. So launch managers will be keeping track of any wind shears that might tear the rocket apart in flight.

Launch managers gave a "go" for cryogenic propellant loading after a briefing at the top of the hour.

Engineers are examining the temporary loss of data from sensors designed to ensure the rocket's engines and boosters do not inadvertently ignite in the event the countdown of put on hold. The data loss so far is unexplained, but the system was recycled and now is working properly. Engineers will monitor the system throughout the countdown and believe it will work properly when the countdown reaches a built-in hold at T-Minus 5 minutes.