FAA clears European asteroid probe for launch, but stormy weather threatens delay
CBSN
After days of uncertainty, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Sunday that SpaceX had been cleared to press ahead with the planned Monday launch of the European Space Agency's $398 million Hera asteroid probe, stormy weather permitting.
With forecasters calling for an 85% chance of thick clouds and showers that would trigger a delay, Hera's launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is targeted for 10:52 a.m. EDT Monday. The forecast is 75% "no-go" if launch is delayed to Tuesday.
"The last hurdle is the weather. So, please, please, I need you to do something about it!" Hera project manager Ian Carnelli joked with reporters Sunday. "It's the only thing I really cannot control. ... It looks like we have some opening around the time of launch, but it's really impossible to say at the moment."
