Posted: Tue, Apr 25, 2006, 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT)
The launch of two Earth-observing satellites was scrubbed again early Tuesday, this time because of high winds. The Delta 2 carrying the CloudSat and CALIPSO satellites was scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 6:02 am EDT (1002 GMT), but the launch was scrubbed four minutes before the scheduled liftoff time when weather balloons reported upper-level winds above acceptable limits. The launch has been rescheduled for Wednesday at the same time. A launch attempt Friday was scrubbed in the final minute before launch because of a ground communications problem; attempts Saturday through Monday were postponed when tracking aircraft were not available. The two spacecraft are designed to study the role of clouds in shaping the planet's climate. CALIPSO, a joint project of NASA and the French space agency CNES, carries a lidar and camera to study clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere; CloudSat has a radar designed to provide a three-dimensional map of cloud cover.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  AFP article
•  Spaceflight Now launch status center