NASA Delays Launch of 3-D Cloud Satellites

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – NASA delayed the launch of a pair of NASA satellites designed to give scientists their first three-dimensional view of clouds.

A Boeing Delta II rocket carrying the CloudSat and Calipso satellites had been expected to launch from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday on a mission to study how clouds affect weather and climate.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said the launch was delayed because the refueling aircraft required to maintain the radar tracking plane wasn’t available. Mission managers were trying to determine the next launch opportunity.

An earlier launch attempt was scrubbed Friday after communication signals were lost between mission control in Vandenberg and a command center in France. The problem is under investigation.