The U.S. space agency's newest rocket, designed to replace NASA's aging space shuttles, had been scheduled for an 8 a.m. EDT launch. But the countdown was postponed numerous times because of various problems, including a ship that at one point moved into the launch danger zone in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Canaveral.
The decision to cancel the Tuesday launch was made shortly before 11:30 a.m. EDT because of continually unacceptable ground wind speeds at the space center and because of storm clouds in the launch area and resulting fears of triboelectrification -- a condition in which cloud particles or precipitation cause a buildup of static on a space vehicle or aircraft, interfering with communications.
Officials said NASA's first test flight of the Ares I-X is designed to determine its flight characteristics and test hardware, facilities and ground operations.
NASA officials said another attempt to launch the rocket would be made Wednesday at 8 a.m. when weather conditions are expected to be at a 40 percent "no-go" level, compared with Tuesday's 60 percent "no-go" forecast. Weather officials said they also expected diminished wind speeds Wednesday morning, both on the ground and aloft, along with a decrease in cloudiness.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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