FLORIDA, January 17 – The much awaited launch of the NASA space-mission to Pluto suffered several delays today which resulted in an ultimate delay of 24 hours. The mission is now scheduled for 1:16PM EST (1816 GMT).
Continuous ground winds were the main reason for the delays, the winds reached speeds above the maximum limit set out by NASA several times during the day and ultimately this caused the mission to be delayed for 24 hours. Apart from the winds there were also some glitches with a vent valve, a ground tracking station in Antigua and the NASA Deep Space Network which all contributed to the problems faced today.
The New Horizons Pluto probe and its Atlas 5 rocket launch were cancelled just two minutes and 42 seconds before the actual launch would take place, a true cliffhanger. Flight controllers are confident they will be able to launch tomorrow.
For more information on the mission to Pluto please visit PlutoMission.com
