A technical hitch has delayed the launch of an Ariane-5 rocket for the second day running. The rocket was to launch a probe designed to try to unlock mysteries of the solar system by studying a comet.
The Rosetta comet-chasing probe had been set for launch from French Guiana on the northeast coast of South America.
A European Space Agency (ESA) spokesman said a piece of detached insulation was found in the final inspection of the main fuel tank for a launch that was slated for 0736 GMT. The spokesman said a new launch date would be announced shortly.
Yesterday, high altitude winds scrubbed a first launch opportunity.
Rosetta must be launched before mid-March or lose its opportunity to rendezvous with the comet.
The Rosetta probe is designed to chase and then land on the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko after a scheduled 10-year voyage.
Rosetta was initially scheduled to have been launched in early 2003. But the mission was postponed after an upgraded version of Ariane-5 exploded on its maiden flight in December 2002.
Because of the delay the initial target, the comet Wirtanen, became out of reach for the mission and was replaced with Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
The ESA said the Rosetta mission would cost over $1.2 billion.