Wind delays NASA launch of twin moon spacecraft
This framegrab image from NASA-TV shows the twin GRAIL satellites sitting on launch pad 37-A at the 15-minute hold mark atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket Thursday Sept. 8, 2011. NASA is sending the probes on a long, roundabout trip to the moon. The spacecraft will orbit the moon, chasing one another in circles so researchers can measure the gap and the gravity below. It will be the first lunar mission devoted to studying the insides of the moon. By measuring the entire gravity field of the moon, scientists hope to learn what the moon is made of all the way to its core. (AP Photo/NASA)
Thursday, September 8, 2011
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — High wind has forced a one-day launch delay for NASA's newest moon spacecraft.
An unmanned rocket was supposed to blast off from Cape Canaveral on Thursday with the twin probes. But the countdown was halted because of gusty wind in the flight path.
NASA says it will try again Friday, despite another poor weather forecast. Launch time is 8:33 a.m. The space agency has just two single-second launch windows every day.
The Grail mission is the first in more than 50 years of lunar exploration that's dedicated to measuring the moon's gravity.
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