A last-minute technical problem has delayed Nasa’s unprecedented flight to the sun.
Saturday’s launch countdown was halted with just one-minute, 55 seconds remaining, keeping the Delta IV (four) rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida, with the Parker Solar Probe. This followed earlier trouble in the countdown.
Nasa says it will try again on Sunday.
Once on its way, the Parker probe will venture closer to our star than any other spacecraft. The $1.5bn mission is already a week late because of rocket issues.
Thousands of spectators gathered in the middle of the night to witness the launch, including the University of Chicago astrophysicist for whom the spacecraft is named. Eugene Parker predicted the existence of solar wind 60 years ago. He’s now 91 and eager to see the solar probe soar.
From its launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida, the Parker Solar Probe will blast off on a course that swings past Venus and loops around the sun before diving ever lower into the star’s brutally hot atmosphere, the corona that shines like a halo in a total solar eclipse. The US space agency aims for lift-off at 3.48am local time (8.48am BST).
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
