spacetoday.net: GOCE launch postponed

Posted: Mon, Mar 16, 2009, 8:05 PM ET (0005 GMT)
GOCE illustration (ESA)

The launch of a European earth sciences satellite Monday was scrubbed in the final seconds of the countdown because of a glitch with the launch pad. ESA's Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) was set to launch Monday at 10:21 am EDT (1421 GMT) on a Rockot from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. However, the countdown was stopped seven seconds before liftoff when the doors of the service tower at the launch pad failed to open, preventing the structure from moving back. The problem was corrected and the rocket cleared for launch at the same time Tuesday. The spacecraft is designed to measure the Earth's gravity field with unprecedented resolution, allowing scientists to better study ocean circulation and sea-level change.