spacetoday.net: Winds scrub Atlas launch

Winds scrub Atlas launch

Posted: Fri, Feb 17, 2012, 7:12 AM ET (1212 GMT)
Atlas 5 before MUOS-1 launch (ULA)

High upper-level winds kept an Atlas rocket carrying a Navy communications satellite grounded on Thursday. The Atlas 5 511 was set to lift off late Thursday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the MUOS-1 satellite. However, upper-level winds were above limits throughout the 44-minute launch window, forcing controllers to scrub the launch. The launch has been rescheduled for 5:42 pm EST (2242 GMT) Friday, although forecasts call for only a 40 percent chance of acceptable weather. MUOS-1 is the first in the new Mobile User Objective System series of satellites designed to provide mobile communications for military forces.