Delta 2 Launch Delayed by Bad Weather

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. —  The scheduled launch of a $30-million Delta 2 rocket Friday carrying a $65-million Global Positioning System military navigation satellite was postponed to today because of rain and heavy clouds.

The 126-foot Delta 2 rocket had been scheduled for liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, despite predictions of a 90% chance of stormy weather. Forecasters were calling for a 40% chance of more bad weather today.

Mounted inside a protective nose cone atop the rocket was a Global Positioning System “Navstar” satellite, the ninth in a planned network of such spacecraft that ultimately will allow military forces on the ground, at sea and in the air to determine their location and altitude to within 53 feet anywhere in the world.