That includes the status of both satellites, the launch vehicle, the launch base, the ground stations that are used to capture launch vehicle telemetry … and the weather. While we can fix any technical issue related to the above, there is not much we can do about the weather. There are three weather-related launch criteria that have to be "green" before the launch can take place. The first is that ground winds that have to be below 10 m/sec in the direction normal to the beach. This is to protect against a launch failure where one of the spacecraft tanks ruptures over the ocean and the toxic fumes blow toward the city.
The second is related to altitude winds that have to be below a certain value to protect against destruction of the launch vehicle in flight where debris could fall on the local population. If the launch vehicle deviates from its nominal trajectory, an on-board system automatically "destroys" the launch vehicle and debris will fall in the ocean.
The third weather criterion is related to thunder. If there is a risk of thunder as the launch vehicle goes through the clouds, the launch will not take place. To monitor the weather, weather balloons are sent at regular intervals to measure the atmospheric environment.
The latest balloon, sent at 8 hours before the launch, confirmed that all weather conditions were green. This has allowed the launch vehicle activities to proceed as planned with the chilling of the main stage lines.
Contributor: Jean-Luc Froeliger, Senior Director, Space Systems Acquisition
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