spacetoday.net: Weather postpones Atlas launch

Weather postpones Atlas launch

Posted: Sat, May 7, 2011, 8:20 AM ET (1220 GMT)
Atlas 5 before SBIRS GEO-1 launch (ULA)

Cloudy conditions delayed Friday's scheduled launch of an Atlas 5 carrying the first of a new generation of missile warning satellites. An Atlas 5 401 was scheduled to launch Friday afternoon from Cape Canaveral, carrying the Space Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) GEO-1 satellite, but cloudy conditions failed to clear before the 40-minute launch window closed. The launch has been rescheduled for Saturday at 2:10 pm EDT (1810 GMT), with a 90-percent chance of acceptable weather. SBIRS GEO-1 is the first of a new series of satellites located in geosynchronous orbit designed to detect missiles as they are launched.