DSCOVR launch delayed, next opportunity Monday evening

Feb. 9, 2015

NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) was scheduled to launch Sunday at 6:10 p.m. EST, but the launch was scrubbed due to the loss of an Air Force Eastern Range radar system, according to SpaceX, which is furnishing the launch vehicle that will propel DSCOVR into its L1 orbit about the Sun. There were also some telemetry or avionics issues leading up to the launch, as reported on the SpaceX live feed.

The next launch opportunity is Monday February 9 at 6:07 p.m. EST.

DSCOVR will give forecasters more reliable measurements of solar wind speed, improving their ability to monitor harmful solar activity, and replace an aging research satellite currently used to warn of impacts to Earth. The satellite will also include earth-observing instruments. Read more at “NOAA’s DSCOVR satellite to warn of trillion-dollar solar storms.”—Rick Nelson

About the Author

Rick Nelson

Contributing Editor

Rick is currently Contributing Technical Editor. He was Executive Editor for EE in 2011-2018. Previously he served on several publications, including EDN and Vision Systems Design, and has received awards for signed editorials from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. He began as a design engineer at General Electric and Litton Industries and earned a BSEE degree from Penn State.