spacetoday.net: NOAA-N Prime launch postponed again

Posted: Thu, Feb 5, 2009, 5:47 AM ET (1047 GMT)
The launch of a weather satellite on a Delta 2 was scrubbed again late Wednesday night because of a problem with a ground system. The launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, scheduled for 5:22 am EST (1022 GMT), was scrubbed several hours earlier because of a freon leak in a payload cooling system at the launch site. While the cooling system is repaired, technicians plans to check to ensure that the leak did not cause any contamination of the satellite. The launch has tentatively been rescheduled for the same time on Friday. The launch had been previously scheduled for Wednesday but postponed because of a problem with a nitrogen pressurization system. The polar-orbiting weather satellite, the last in the current series of such spacecraft, suffered two mishaps during its manufacturing, including an infamous incident in 2003 when the spacecraft slipped off a stand and fell to a floor, incurring over $200 million in repair costs.