Vandenberg rocket launch delayed by more than a week. Here’s why
The West Coast’s final Atlas V rocket will hang around for several days longer at Vandenberg Space Force Base because of a battery issue on the launch vehicle.
United Launch Alliance scrapped plans for an early morning departure Tuesday during a 36-minute window and says the Atlas rocket will not depart any earlier than Nov. 9.
The delay is related to “the need to replace a battery on board the Centaur upper stage of the launch vehicle,” ULA officials said Saturday.
A day earlier, mission managers had declared the rocket and payloads “all ready to go” and said they were not working any issues.
The mission’s new launch date remained pending completion of the battery replacement chores and availability on the Vandenberg launch schedule.
The Atlas V rocket still stands on Space Launch Complex-3 on the South Base near Lompoc awaiting the chance to carry a pair of payloads into space.
Atlas will deliver the next in the series of weather satellites, the Joint Polar Satellite System or JPSS-2 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“JPSS represents the latest and best technology NOAA’s ever flown operationally in the polar orbit to capture more precise observations of the Earth’s atmosphere, land and water that are improving NOAA’s life-saving weather forecasts,” said Irene Parker, deputy assistant administrator, NOAA Systems, National Environmental Satellite, Data and Services. “And they also provide environmental information essential for the nation’s economic security and development.”
Also hitching a ride will be NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID.
The technology demonstration mission will take 125 minutes from launch to splash down off the coast of Hawaii, according to Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
NASA officials said they hope to determine whether an inflatable heat shield can survive re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, adding that the technology could revolutionize future space travel.
The final West Coast Atlas V rocket mission follows the last West Coast Delta IV rocket launch in September as ULA begins to transition its next generation space booster known as Vulcan.
Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com . Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk , @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz . Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook .
