The launch of NASA’s Genesis spacecraft aboard a Boeing Delta II
rocket was postponed again today because of unacceptable weather conditions.
Launch is now scheduled to occur at 12:08:13 p.m. EDT, Sunday, Aug.12.
Mission managers today officially reserved Aug. 12 and 13 on the
Eastern Range, and will consider any earlier opportunities that become
available. The near term Genesis launch period extends to Aug. 15. The Delta
II rocket and Genesis spacecraft remain in excellent health.
Genesis will be NASA’s first sample return mission of this millennium, when
it captures a piece of the Sun and returns to Earth. It will travel to a
point where the Sun and Earth gravities are balanced, open its collector
arrays and capture elements in the solar wind. The samples will help
scientists learn about the beginnings of our solar system.
