Washington - The test launch of the next generation space rocket, Ares I-X, was delayed again Tuesday due to questionable weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The call to delay the launch came in the final minutes of countdown after NASA had removed a cover from the rocket and given the final all-clear for launch.
NASA had battled off and on with clouds over the launch site all morning. A passing ship had also prompted a brief pause. Since pieces of the rocket will fall back into the ocean, NASA was being particularly watchful of maritime traffic.
However the US space agency said it would still attempt to take off within the four hour launch window that began at 1200 GMT.
Ares I-X is the first of two new rockets planned by NASA for its Constellation programme with the eventual goal of returning humans to the moon.
Ares I would be used to carry astronauts to low-Earth orbit, including to the International Space Station, aboard the next-generation Orion crew capsule. A later, more powerful Ares V rocket is to be developed to carry astronauts to the moon and beyond.
