As I was afraid, the high winds forced NASA to scrub the Friday night launch of the Themis satellites on board a Delta 2 rocket. The rescheduled launch is now set for Saturday February 17 at 6:01 PM EST ((23:01 UTC), the opening of a 18 minute launch window.

The five satellites on board will study the F Layer of the ionosphere for the next two years to gain knowledge on how solar storms effect the earths atmosphere. As radio hams we all know how the sun, and in particular solar storms, can have a great effect on our radio signals. More information on the Themis mission can be found at

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/main/index.html

Be sure to check out the Multimedia video of the Themis story. Really cool animation.

Orginal Message:

Those in the Cape Canaveral Florida and surrounding areas might look for a Delta 2 launch this evening, Friday. The launch window opens at 18:05 EST ( 23:05 UTC) and last for 18 minutes. The skies here in the Tampa Bay area have cleared, and hope the winds will lay down. I also hope to have a visual of the Themis satellite launch from about 125 miles away.

If your not in visual range you can watch the launch on NASA TV. One way to view it is to go to Space.Com next launch window and click on watch the 'Launch web-cast on NASA TV'

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/launches/next_launch.html

Let's hope for the winds to come down.

73, Keith N4Q