ULA scrubs spy satellite launch for 4th time

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- United Launch Alliance scrubbed a launch of its Delta 4-Heavy rocket for the fourth time in less than two weeks Wednesday.

The NROL-71 mission faces yet another delay, though ULA declined to provide a reason for this scrub.

"We have declared a scrub for today's launch of the #DeltaIVHeavy. We will set up for a 24 hour recycle and the next launch attempt will be [Thursday] at 5:31p.m. PST," the aerospace company said in a tweet.

The rocket was scheduled to blast-off from Space Launch Complex 6 at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 8:44 p.m. EST, 5:44 p.m. local time.

ULA's 71st mission for the National Reconnaissance Office will see the company's most powerful rocket carry a spy satellite into orbit.

Earlier this month, ULA was forced to abandon launch plans on back-to-back days after anomalies arose during preflight checks.

The launch was scrubbed once already this week -- on Tuesday afternoon -- because of high winds in the area.

As is customary when spy satellites are launched, NRO and ULA have offered very little information about the payload being carried into space.

According to new site SpaceFlight 101: "NROL-71 is most likely a heavy Keyhole KH-11 image reconnaissance satellite."

The telescope-like spy satellites capture high-resolution images for the U.S. military and intelligence agencies.

"We are proud to launch this critical payload in support of our nation's national security mission," Gary Wentz, vice president of government and commercial programs at ULA, said in a news release. "As the nation's premiere launch provider, the teams have worked diligently to ensure continued mission success, delivering our customer's payloads to the precise orbits requested."