VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — Officials have postponed the California launch of a new type of U.S. weather satellite intended to improve the accuracy of extended forecasts. A press release from Vandenberg Air Force Base says the planned launch was scrubbed early Tuesday because of an unspecified issue and managers didn’t have enough time to resolve it.
The launch of the Delta 2 rocket has been rescheduled for Wednesday, at 1:47 a.m. PST. The rocket will carry the Joint Polar Satellite System-1, the first of four advanced spacecraft for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Operating in polar orbit, the satellite is designed to make global observations that will improve forecasts of severe weather three to seven days out.