CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Strong winds at high altitudes prevented the first-ever Atlas 3-A rocket from lifting off on Tuesday, and the resulting 24-hour delay to that mission will also force NASA to delay its planned launch this week of shuttle Atlantis to Friday.
Powerful upper level winds blowing high over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station would have pushed the Atlas 3 rocket off course, or even destroyed it.
"The winds weren't going to get better and we just ran out of time," said Julie Andrews, a spokeswoman for International Launch Services, the company that markets the Atlas family of commercial rockets for Lockheed Martin.
A launch attempt Monday was scrubbed because of a technical problem with a portable radar system placed in Bermuda for this inaugural flight. That trouble was corrected by early Tuesday morning.
The Atlas launch team will try again Wednesday between 5:37 and 7:57 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (21:37 to 23:57 GMT). The weather forecast is favorable.
Under the rules of the Air Force-managed Eastern Range, all new rockets are allowed three launch opportunities on consecutive days before having to get back in line for the next chance to go.
It also takes at least 24 hours for the Eastern Range to be reconfigured for different types of rockets.
Understanding those limitations, NASA had booked Thursday for its shuttle launch knowing full well that if the Atlas wound up requiring a Wednesday launch attempt the Atlantis mission to the space station automatically would be delayed 24 hours.
Atlantis is now set to liftoff Friday around 6:12 a.m. EDT (10:12 GMT).
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