Launching windatellite later by strong wind

kourou - The launch of the ultra-modern weather satellite Aeolus, scheduled for Tuesday evening, has been postponed by exactly one day. The reason for the postponement is the strong wind that blew at the planned time at the launch site in Kourou, in French Guyana. The satellite has been developed to measure wind on Earth in new ways.

The launch of the European satellite is now scheduled for Wednesday evening 23. 8 pm (Dutch time). The satellite goes, once at 320 kilometers altitude, to map the wind on earth.

Measuring the wind is still done by weather stations on the ground, such as at the KNMI in De Bilt. Occasionally weather balloons go into the air. Aircraft indicate after landing which winds they encountered along the way. The problem is that they are all snapshots. We only know how the wind at a certain moment blows at a certain place. There is no overall picture.

The mission will take at least three years, and possibly another two years longer.