WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. (WTVR) – Bad weather again contributed to the scrubbing of a science mission being launched from the NASA facility on Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore.
Early Friday morning the launch was delayed because a ship was in an area where the rockets could fall back to earth, according to commentary on a live stream with NASA engineers. Deteriorating weather conditions then forced the launch to be officially called off. Clouds in Virginia and at viewing stations in New Jersey and North Carolina were to blame.
NASA says the next window for a launch will be early Sunday, March 25th, but a decision on that will be made later Friday afternoon.
The Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX) will gather information on high-altitude wind patterns 60 to 65 miles above earth. Five rockets will eventually release a chemical tracer allowing scientists to “see” the winds in space.
People from South Carolina to New England should be able to see effects of the launch when it finally happens. The man-made clouds should be visible for about 20 minutes.
