ULA rocket launch delayed again. When will it blast off from Vandenberg?
The launch of the Atlas V rocket and its Landsat 9 spacecraft from Vandenberg Space Force Base now won’t occur before Sept. 27, according to NASA.
The latest four-day delay also will lead to some new dates for the assortment of community activities planned in conjunction with the historic launch.
On Wednesday, NASA said the space agency and United Launch Alliance were reviewing the launch date after the team experienced delays in completing pre-liftoff chores.
“Attaching the spacecraft to the Atlas V rocket has been delayed due to out-of-tolerance high winds for the operation and conflicts with other customers using the Western Range,” NASA said.
Located near Lompoc, Vandenberg has a busy weekend with a missile-defense test launch Sunday morning and a Falcon 9 rocket launch on Monday night.
Previously, the Atlas mission slipped a week, from Sept. 16 to no earlier than Sept. 23, after supply chain troubles meant the liquid nitrogen needed for the launch wasn’t available.
“Current pandemic demands for medical liquid oxygen have impacted the delivery of the needed liquid nitrogen supply to Vandenberg by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and its supplier Airgas,” NASA said in late August.
After overcoming that challenge, the team successfully conducted a wet dress rehearsal, counting down and fueling the rocket but not firing the engine or lifting off, earlier this month.
Landsat 9 is a joint NASA and U.S. Geological Survey mission that continues the legacy of monitoring Earth’s land and coastal regions.
The first Landsat launched in 1972 and was followed by its sibling satellites, all from Vandenberg.
Santa Barbara County isn’t just the launch site for Landsat. Northrop Grumman in Goleta designed and built Landsat 9’s solar array.
To mark the 50th anniversary, a kickoff event, the Landsat in Lompoc GeoTour, is planned from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday at the Dick DeWees Community & Senior Center, 1120 W. Ocean Ave. Registration is free and available at explorelompoc.com/geocaching.
The “Earth as Art” exhibit can be viewed in the Lompoc Library’s Grossman Gallery, 501 E. North Ave., from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 23 through Sept. 30.
A Landsat Week proclamation and mural dedication is planned for 2 p.m. Sept. 26 near the corner of Ocean Avenue and I Street. The mural celebrates the Landsat program’s 50th anniversary.
A Landsat 9 launch viewing is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 27 at the Lompoc Airport, 1801 North H St.
The full list of activities can viewed at landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov.