Posted: Sun, Nov 30, 2014, 11:46 AM ET (1646 GMT)
Citing forecasts of high winds, the Japanese space agency JAXA has again delayed the launch of its latest asteroid mission, this time by two days. The space agency said Sunday that weather forecasts called for strong winds on the afternoon of December 1, and thus decided to delay the launch for two days. The H-2A carrying Hayabusa-2 is now scheduled to lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 11:22 pm EST December 2 (0422 GMT, 1:22 pm local time December 3). Cloudy conditions previously forced JAXA to delay the launch from November 30 to December 1. Hayabusa-2 will travel to the asteroid 1993 JU3, arriving in mid-2018 to collect samples before returning to Earth in 2020.
