Launch of U.S. weather satellite scrubbed

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, California -- The planned launch of a rocket carrying a U.S. weather satellite from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base has been scrubbed because of technical problems.

The NOAA-N Prime satellite was scheduled to be launched aboard a Delta 2 rocket early Wednesday but the mission was postponed because of a problem with the facility's gaseous nitrogen system, which is used to pressurize the liquid oxygen tank and control systems.

The launch is to be the last in a series of polar-orbiting satellites that have been observing Earth's weather since 1960.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which manages the $564 million mission, did not immediately say when the launch would take place.

Rain forecast from Thursday through the weekend could present problems.