Tropical Storm Isaac Stalls NASA Launch of Radiation-Belt Satellites Until Thursday
NASA’s effort to launch a pair of satellites to Earth’s radiation belts has been delayed until late next week because of Tropical Storm Isaac.
The countdown was halted at the four-minute mark in the wee hours of Saturday — for the second time in as many days.
Thunderstorms prevented the unmanned rocket from blasting off with NASA’s Radiation Belt Storm Probes. On Friday, a tracking beacon on the rocket held up the flight.NASA initially said it would try again Sunday. But with Isaac bearing toward Florida, launch managers decided to move the Atlas V rocket back into its hangar and sit tight until the storm passed. They’re now aiming for a Thursday launch.