The liftoff of the first Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) was scrubbed Nov. 14 due to the triggering of a launch vehicle alarm and the presence of two boats in a restricted area, according to the U.S. Air Force and United Launch Alliance (ULA).
“Due to the short [launch] window, there was insufficient time to fully coordinate a resolution,” the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California said in a brief statement.
The launch has been rescheduled for Nov. 15 at 1:47 a.m. Pacific time.
The liftoff was previously delayed from Nov. 10 to Nov. 14 to replace a faulty battery on the launch vehicle booster (Defense Daily, Nov. 9).
Built by Ball Aerospace for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA, the satellite is supposed to ride into space on a ULA Delta 2. ULA is a joint venture between Boeing [BA] and Lockheed Martin [LMT].
JPSS is the new generation of U.S. polar-orbiting weather satellites. The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, a precursor to JPSS, was launched in 2011.