Unfavorable Weather Conditions Put Flying Saucer Mission on Hold: NASA

The U.S. Space Agency announced that it will delay the launch of the flying-saucer shaped test vehicle into the Earth's atmosphere to test technology that could be used to land on the Red Planet.

The launch of NASA's Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) that was expected to take to the skies this Saturday June 14, has been cancelled due to unfavorable weather conditions.  

"NASA did not conduct the flight test of the agency's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range in Kauai, Hawaii, during its designated launch period. The project's reserved time at the range will expire Saturday without NASA being able to fly the test because of continuing unfavorable weather conditions," according to the press statement.

The authorities concerned will hold a media teleconference on June 12 to discuss the implications of the delay and the next step for the project that is designed to investigate technologies that will benefit future Mars missions including human exploration.

Saturday was fixed as the last allotted launch date in the current launch period. Prior to this the team had geared up to launch the rocket powered vehicle on Wednesday.  The LDSD launch could not take place  due to unfavorable weather conditions and the authorities selected June 14 as the next potential launch date.

According to the Associated Press (AP), NASA will roll out the LDSD even though the current forecast predicts a 60 percent chance of showers.

"After years of imagination, engineering and hard work, we soon will get to see our Keiki o ka honua, our 'boy from Earth,' show us its stuff," said Mark Adler, project manager for the LDSD at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "The success of this experimental test flight will be measured by the success of the test vehicle to launch and fly its flight profile as advertised. If our flying saucer hits its speed and altitude targets, it will be a great day."

The main aim of this project is get the altitude as well as velocity that stimulates the environment that space vehicles encounter in the Martian atmosphere.