George Diller/Launch Commentator From the NASA Mission Director's Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California,
this is Delta Launch Control at T-111 minutes, 48 seconds and counting. In about 20 minutes,
we'll be entering the final two hours of the countdown for the launch of the NOAA-N Prime polar-orbiting
weather satellite for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Liftoff will be aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from
NASA's Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
This month is the 20th anniversary of the United Launch Alliance Delta II -- a commercial version of the original
Delta rocket launched by NASA beginning in 1960. The first Delta II launch was on
Feb. 14, 1989 with a GPS navigation satellite for the Air Force.
The launch is targeted for 2:22 a.m. Pacific time, this morning.
The launch window is 10 minutes in duration, extending until 2:32 a.m.
Final launch preparations began yesterday afternoon when the gantry, or mobile service tower,
was retracted from around the launch vehicle at about 5:30 p.m.
The mobile service tower provides the primary access and weather protection for the Delta II rocket.
At T-108 minutes, 47 seconds and counting, this is Delta Launch Control.