NASA remains at T-4 minutes hold for the launch of Ares I-X after a series of last-minute hold ups continue to conspire to delay lift-off.

The sequence of delays began when launch personnel attempted to remove the cover of the ‘five hole’ probe measuring air speed, pitch and yaw angles, and the total and static pressure during the flight. The cover proved more difficult to remove than expected and was the first time such an issue had been seen “after 100s of tests,” commented launch officials.

But, no sooner had mission control personnel cheered when the cover finally came unstuck, than a cargo ship wandered into the safety zone down range of KSC. There was brief uncertainty while officials queried how long it would take for the ship to leave the danger area, with as long as 90-minuted being mentioned at one point. The errant vessel was then ordered to turn around, and quickly became no factor.

At this point, weather again reared its head when a 45th Space Wing and observer aircraft, during a final pass over the launch site, noted cloud encroaching over the edge of the pad area. As these clouds indicate the potential presence of “P-static” (P for precipitation), which can create a corona of static that interferes with radio signals sent by or to the rocket, then this was considered a ’no-go’ condition - again forcing the countdown to be halted at T-2 minutes and 38 seconds. The P-static issue is critical as it could interfere with flight termination signals sent by the Range Safety Officer at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the event of a malfunction.

No its all eyes on the weather again - with just over 1.5 hours of launch window time remaining.