Update - February 11, 12:15 pm:
Today's DSCOVR launch attempt is still on track for 3:03 pm PST. NASA and SpaceX will have live feeds.
Unfortunately, SpaceX will not attempt to land the Falcon 9 upper stage on a barge today due to extreme weather in the Atlantic. SpaceX reports 3-story-high waves crashing over decks and says the company plans a soft water landing through the storm to collect valuable landing data.
Please scroll down for more information about the DSCOVR mission and landing attempt.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Update - February 10, 3:00 pm:
Launch was scrubbed today due to persistent upper level winds just above the safe margin. Next attempt will be tomorrow:
Wednesday, February 11, 3:03 pm PST (6:03 pm EST, 00:03 Feb.12 CET).
________________________________________________________________________________
Update - February 9, 8:00 am:
NOAA tweeted this morning that launch will be delayed one more day due to unfavorable weather conditions. New launch time:
Tuesday, February 10, 3:05 pm PST (6:05 pm EST, 00:05 Feb.10 CET).
A backup launch window is available on Wednesday, February 11, 3:03 pm PST (6:03 pm EST, 00:03 Feb.12 CET).
_______________________________________________________________________________
Update - February 8, 3:20 pm:
Today's launch was scrubbed three minutes prior to lift-off time. According to spaceflightnow.com: "The Air Force Eastern Range called a hold due to a loss of tracking with
the rocket. The SpaceX launch team was also working a telemetry problem
in the final minutes of the countdown, and it's not clear if both
conditions were "no go" for launch."
The launch window was instantaneous and there won't be another attempt today. Falcon 9 is being put in safe mode. SpaceX will try again tomorrow:
Monday, February 9, 3:05 pm PST (6:05 pm EST, 00:05 Feb.10 CET).
Weather conditions are about 50% favorable. A backup launch window is available on Wednesday. The 1-day delay will also give SpaceX a chance to replace a video transmitter on the rocket's first stage.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Tomorrow, February 8, Space X will launch the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) for NASA, NOAA and the U.S. Air Force. This launch has been delayed a few times throughout January and is now scheduled for 3:10 pm PST (6:10 pm EST, 00:10 Feb. 9 CET). In North America, we'll see a Sunday afternoon launch from Cape Canaveral. NASA TV and SpaceX will have live coverage.
NASA / NOAA / USAF DSCOVR Mission Patch
Nine minutes after launch - and this time in daylight - the Falcon 9's first stage will prepare to land on SpaceX’s autonomous spaceport drone ship in the Atlantic. The private rocket company tried this maneuver for the first time last month - an almost-nailed-it landing attempt that ended, as Elon Musk tweeted, with a full RUD event - rapid unscheduled disassembly. Sunday's landing attempt on a drone ship, if successful, will mark a historic occasion in the history of rocketry. You can find more details about the launch and landing timeline here.
SpaceX DSCOVR Mission Patch
The DSCOVR satellite will be positioned 1 million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth, and about 90 million (145 million km) from the Sun at the L1 libration point, where the gravitational influence of the Sun and the Earth are exactly balanced. This places DSCOVR into a stable orbit, where the satellite will monitor space weather, such as solar winds that can affect communication grids and other equipment on Earth. DSCOVR is also tasked with Earth observing functions. Read more about DSCOVR here.
Photo credit: NASA
Getting ready for launch: Enclosing DSCOVR in the Falcon 9's 43-foot-tall (13 m) payload fairing.
