The launch of the MetOp-A satellite has been postponed for the third straight day due to mechanical problems. The launch was scrubbed two minutes before its scheduled liftoff.
The launch of MetOp-A, designed to improve monitoring of weather systems and climate, also was postponed Monday and Tuesday due to problems with the Soyuz rocket. No other specifics have yet been provided.
The launch, when it is rescheduled, will be conducted at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
MetOp-A is 17.6-meters (58 feet) long, including solar panels, and it weighs more than 4 tons. Considered the most complex satellite of its kind, it carries a dozen instruments to measure global weather patterns.
MetOp-A and two sister satellites, scheduled to be launched in the next few years, are designed to provide the highest quality data yet available for weather forecasting and climate monitoring.
The project, a cooperative effort of ESA, EUMETSAT and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, carries an estimated cost of 2.4 billion euros ($3 billion).
