Nasa will try again Wednesday to launch its newest rocket for a test flight after bad weather and other factors thwarted attempts today.

The Ares I-X rocket test is the first step in the space agency’s tentative back-to-the-moon program.

Besides poor weather, launch controllers had to deal with an odd assortment of technical trouble, everything from a snagged cover for the rocket’s tiptop probe to a cargo ship that strayed into an ocean danger zone under the flight path.

Launch director Ed Mango and his team came within two minutes and 39 seconds of sending the rocket on its short test flight. But a big cloud moved over the pad, and the flip-flopping weather was just too much to overcome for the remainder of the four-hour launch window.

Mango finally halted the countdown for good and ordered everyone back Wednesday morning for another try. The weather was expected to be a little better.

"We’re not going to be ‘go’ today," Mango announced, thanking everyone for their hard effort.

 

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