Weather For Saturday's Atlas Launch Expected To Be "Go"

An Atlas rocket is being readied for a launch this weekend from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and a preliminary forecast calls for good weather that will degrade if the flight slips a day.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas and its payload -- an advanced military communications satellite -- are scheduled to blast off from Launch Complex 41 at 7:07 a.m. Saturday. The launch window that day will extend through 9:06 a.m.

Forecasters at the Air Force 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron say there is an 80 percent chance conditions will be acceptable for flight. Should the launch slip a day, there would be a 60 percent chance conditions would be good to go on Sunday. The primary concern both days is the possibility of electrically charged clouds in the area during the launch window. Rockets flying through electrically charged clouds could trigger destructive bolts of lightning.

Here is the detail from the weather squadron:

A Low pressure system off the Southwest Florida coast will bring an influx of moisture into Central Florida today with showers and isolated thunderstorms coming in off the Atlantic . Through mid-week, the low transits toward the Northern Gulf coast with the high pressure axis to the North. In this regime pattern with ample moisture, isolated morning coastal showers can be expected with thunderstorms developing by early afternoon and migrating to the West.

Thursday is a transition day with the high pressure axis shifting South of Central Florida through the day with a surface trough encroaching into the Gulf coast states. Coastal showers in the morning with thunderstorms developing early afternoon along the slow Westward migrating seabreeze boundary are expected.

For MLP roll on Friday, fair weather conditions are expected in the morning with a loose pressure gradient and light Southwesterly winds during the roll gusting to 12 kts (230 feet). Isolated showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop along the seabreeze boundary by early afternoon. Steering level winds, although light, will attempt to steer developing thunderstorms back toward the East coast.

On launch day, the surface trough remains in South Georgia. Similar conditions to MLP roll are expected with a small threat of an isolated shower or thunderstorm during the count. West-southwest winds gusting in the low to mid-teens are expected.

The primary concerns for launch day are Cumulus Clouds associated with isolated showers.

In the event of a 48 hour delay, the aforementioned surface trough pushes into the peninsula with moisture pooling in advance of the surface trough and an increased threat of isolated showers and thunderstorms. The primary concerns for a 48 hour delay are Cumulus Clouds.