This
story was updated at 10:07 a.m.
CAPE
CANAVERAL, Fla. — Bad weather and a series of unlucky events are stalling
NASA's plans to launch the prototype Ares I-X rocket on a test flight today.
The
rocket was poised
to launch at 9:44 a.m. EDT (1344 GMT) after a slight delay to take
advantage of a brief window of clear skies, only to be thwarted in the final
minutes before launch by an errant boat that had strayed into the danger zone
which the rocket would fly over after liftoff. After that issue was cleared
NASA intended to try again at 9:49 a.m., but a cloud was spotted passing over
the launch pad, violating weather concerns.
Before
that, a sock that covered a sensor instrument on the top of the rocket got
stalled as crews attempted to pull the cover off. But that issue, too, was
resolved.
"There
was huge applause here in the control room when it finally broke off and came
clear," said Ares I-X deputy mission manager Jon Cowart. "Glad they
got that turned around and got that fixed. But that did delay us."
Now
mission managers are targeting a launch sometime within the next hour, and plan
to take advantage of any clear skies that arise.
"What
we're doing now is we're standing by," Cowart said. "We think we see
another region of availability. We have hopes that within the next 45 minutes
to an hour another clear zone will pass over the launch pad."
The
test rocket was originally slated to lift off this morning at 8 a.m. EDT (1200
GMT) from Launch
Pad 39B here at Kennedy Space Center. Clouds, high upper level winds and
the threat of rain are expected to be concerns throughout the day.
NASA
has until noon EDT (1600 GMT) today to loft the rocket before its four-hour
launch window is up and NASA must stand down until
Wednesday. All the booster needs is about 10 minutes of clear skies
within that time.
Slightly
better weather conditions are expected for Wednesday, when weather officer
Kathy Winters has predicted a 60 percent chance of clear skies. That's an
improvement over Tuesday's forecast, which held only 40 percent odds of
favorable weather.
"I
feel more optimistic about Wednesday than Tuesday," Winters said over the
weekend.
The
$445 million Ares I-X is the first
trial version of NASA's Ares I booster, a next-generation rocket intended
to replace the space shuttle as a vehicle to carry astronauts to low-Earth
orbit and, ultimately, on missions to the moon. The test rocket includes a real
solid-rocket first stage, with a dummy second stage and mock Orion crew module
atop it.
If
Ares I-X does not launch this week, NASA may have to stand down until sometime
in November due to other
launch traffic, including a shuttle mission slated to lift off from a
nearby launch pad Nov. 16. The 327-foot (100-meter) rocket, currently the
world's tallest booster capable of launching, may have another chance to fly
Thursday, mission managers have said.
SPACE.com
will provide full coverage of NASA's Ares I-X test flight with Staff Writer
Clara Moskowitz in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Managing Editor Tariq Malik in New
York. Click here for live launch
coverage and mission coverage.
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