The L-1 Day forecast from the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron has improved to a 60 percent chance of favorable weather for the launch of NASA’s CYGNSS mission spacecraft. Launch is scheduled for 8:24 a.m. EST Monday during the one-hour window, which opens at 8:19 a.m. CYGNSS will take off aboard an Orbital Sciences ATK air-launched Pegasus XL launch vehicle about an hour before launch. The rocket is scheduled for deployment over the Atlantic Ocean from Orbital’s L-1011 carrier aircraft. Launch coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m. here on NASA’s Launch Blog and at 7 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the lifecycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The CYGNSS constellation consists of eight microsatellite observatories that will measure surface winds in and near a hurricane’s inner core, including regions beneath the eyewall and intense inner rainbands that previously could not be measured from space. For more information about NASA’s CYGNSS mission, visit https://www.nasa.gov/cygnss
CYGNSS L-1 Day Launch Weather Forecast
Launch Day:
Probability of Weather Prohibiting Launch: 40%
Primary Concern: Flight Through Precipitation, Cumulus Clouds
If Launch Delayed 24 Hours:
Probability of Weather Prohibiting Launch: 20%
Primary Concern: Precipitation, Cumulus Clouds