CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- It's strike three for the Atlas 3-A rocket and, just like in baseball, it's outta here until Sunday at the earliest.
Next up to bat on the Air Force-managed Eastern Range: NASA's shuttle Atlantis from Kennedy Space Center at 6:12 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (10:12 GMT) Friday.
The Eastern Range, which provides tracking and public-safety services, can handle only one major operation at a time and requires at least 24 hours to reset from one type of rocket to another.
Under the rules of the range, the rookie Atlas 3-A rocket was allowed three chances to fly in a row before having to get back in line again. Veteran rockets like the shuttle -- or the Delta 2, Atlas 2 or Titan 4 -- only get two chances unless the range schedule is open.
As a result, Lockheed Martin managers will have to wait at least 24 hours past the time Atlantis either reaches orbit or scrubs twice in a row before their Atlas will get another turn on the range.
The Atlas 3-A launch team fought to the bitter end on Wednesday but couldn't get any closer than 29 seconds to liftoff, despite several opportunities to begin the final countdown. Sensors, valves and electronic circuitry all contributed to the time-consuming delays that ultimately expired all the time left in the launch window.
On Tuesday it was strong winds blowing high over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station that prevented the Atlas 3-A from launching.
The rocket's steering system usually can compensate for high winds, but if they're blowing too hard at certain altitudes and from certain directions, the winds can be too much for the rocket to handle and could lead to the Atlas 3-A's destruction.
On Monday it was a technical problem with a NASA-operated portable radar system in Bermuda that scrubbed the initial launch attempt.
The 17-story Atlas 3-A rocket is the latest incarnation of the Air Force Atlas ballistic missile first flown from the Cape more than 40 years ago. This version includes a new Centaur upper stage and a pair of Russian-designed engines powering the Atlas' first stage.
The booster is to carry a TV-broadcast and internet-services communications satellite into Earth orbit for Eutelsat -- a European-based satellite operator.
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