NASA Wallops explain rocket launch scrub

Due to last weeks nor’easter pushing the timeline back, NASA Wallops flight facility had to scrub it’s launch scheduled for Tuesday night. However, they will try again Monday night. 

Officials say crews were planning to put the rocket motors and payload on the launch rail Friday. However, they were stalled because of the storm. In addition, all operations were in “stand down” mode over the weekend. Crews got back to work Monday morning and it took until Tuesday evening to get everything all set up.

The lead of the launch, technology manager Cathy Hesh, says there are many variables that come into play when preparing to send up a rocket and the slightest change can result in a scrub.

Hesh says, “A big factor is weather. For this launch we’re looking for very clear skies. If we have scattered cloud layers or too many clouds in the way we’ll have to reschedule again for the next day.”