Winds postpone DSCOVR launch
Posted: Wed, Feb 11, 2015, 6:29 AM ET (1129 GMT)
Strong upper level winds forced SpaceX to postpone Tuesday's scheduled launch of an Earth and space sciences spacecraft from Cape Canaveral. The Falcon 9 v1.1 was scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 6:05 pm EST (2305 GMT) carrying the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) spacecraft. While weather conditions were acceptable on the ground, strong winds at higher altitudes led controllers to scrub the launch. The next launch attempt is scheduled for 6:03 pm EST (2303 GMT) Wednesday; if the launch doesn't take place then, it will be postponed until no earlier than February 20. DSCOVR is a joint mission of NASA, NOAA, and the Air Force to monitor space weather from the Earth-Sn L1 point and also take images of the Earth from that location. DSCOVR uses a spacecraft originally built in the late 1990s by NASA called Triana that was cancelled in 2001. SpaceX also plans to use the launch to attempt to land the rocket's first stage on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the company's efforts to develop a reusable first stage.
Strong upper level winds forced SpaceX to postpone Tuesday's scheduled launch of an Earth and space sciences spacecraft from Cape Canaveral. The Falcon 9 v1.1 was scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 6:05 pm EST (2305 GMT) carrying the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) spacecraft. While weather conditions were acceptable on the ground, strong winds at higher altitudes led controllers to scrub the launch. The next launch attempt is scheduled for 6:03 pm EST (2303 GMT) Wednesday; if the launch doesn't take place then, it will be postponed until no earlier than February 20. DSCOVR is a joint mission of NASA, NOAA, and the Air Force to monitor space weather from the Earth-Sn L1 point and also take images of the Earth from that location. DSCOVR uses a spacecraft originally built in the late 1990s by NASA called Triana that was cancelled in 2001. SpaceX also plans to use the launch to attempt to land the rocket's first stage on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the company's efforts to develop a reusable first stage.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, September 12
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Air and Space Forces Magazine — 12:42 am ET (0442 GMT) More hotels and roads? Here's how SpaceX could change the economy in Acadiana.
Acadiana (LA) Advocate — 12:39 am ET (0439 GMT) SpaceX to Get Weighting Boost in Nasdaq 100 After Rebalance
Bloomberg News — 12:38 am ET (0438 GMT) India needs to launch the space act it keeps scrubbing
The Times of India — 12:37 am ET (0437 GMT) Greek Astrophysicist Calls for European Space Autonomy
Greek City Times — 12:35 am ET (0435 GMT) |
