Posted: Wed, Jan 18, 2006, 2:03 PM ET (1903 GMT)
The launch of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto was delayed Wednesday for the second day in a row, this time because of problems at the spacecraft's control center. Severe storms overnight knocked out power to the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland, which serves as the spacecraft control center for the mission. While the center does have some backup power, project officials did not feel comfortable with launching the mission without a robust power supply for the control center. The launch has been tentatively rescheduled for Thursday at 1:08 pm EST (1808 GMT); a decision to proceed with that launch attempt will be made by late Wednesday afternoon, based on the status of power at APL. Tuesday's initial launch attempt was scrubbed by high winds at Cape Canaveral. Forecasts call for an 80-percent chance of acceptable weather for a Thursday launch attempt.
