Watch DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-4 launch live

Charlie Loyd
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Updated to reflect that the launch has been postponed. Visit www.digitalglobe.com for more information.

WorldView-4, which we blogged about earlier this week, has been postponed.

While fueling the Centaur upper stage with liquid hydrogen for Friday’s launch attempt, the ground crew found a small leak in the Upper Stage Umbilical. The hydrogen is chilled to 20 °K above absolute zero, and the moment it touches open air, frost forms. What the ground crew saw was a ball of ice growing on the umbilical, which United Launch Alliance called “outside their history”. There’s a slim chance it could have led to damage, so they held the launch to diagnose and fix the leak. ULA has a perfect safety record on their Atlas V/Centaur launches, and this kind of caution is why.

Join us and people around the world watching the live stream: