Weather causes 24-hour delay for Soyuz-STA flight of Sentinel-1B
Photo Credit: Jeremy Beck / SpaceFlight Insider
KOUROU, French Guiana — Prior to the fueling of the Arianespace Soyuz-STA rocket, the technical review determined that the weather conditions at the launch site in Sinnamary, French Guiana, were not optimal and the launch has been delayed 24 hours.
Both the rocket and its precious cargo of the Sentinel-1B Earth-observation satellite and other secondary payloads have been placed in a “standby mode” and have also been secured in preparation for a Saturday, April 23, launch attempt.
The rough weather above the Guiana Space Center was set to strike right about the time of tonight’s planned launch. The launch countdown was halted and fueling of the Soyuz-STA rocket was not started.
If tomorrow’s weather conditions hold firm, the launch window is set to open at 06:02:13 p.m., (local time in French Guiana) 05:02:13 p.m. EDT, 22:02:13 GMT.
Tune into SpaceFlight Insider’s Mission Monitor for images from the launch site and for live coverage provided by the European Space Agency.
Jason Rhian
Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills with internships at NASA, the National Space Society and other organizations. He has provided content for outlets such as: Aviation Week & Space Technology, Space.com, The Mars Society and Universe Today.
