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Upper level winds are "red" and the launch team will continue to monitor the status as the countdown progresses toward the planned launch of NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft at 9:20 a.m. EST from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The U.S. Air Force Western Range has verified the range safety systems are operating …

The engines on each of the rocket's two stages are beginning a series of steering-check movements, or "slews."

The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is fully fueled and ready to launch NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft at 9:20 a.m. EST. The final commodity, liquid oxygen, has just been loaded into the Delta II first stage. The operation took 26 minutes, 12 seconds.

The ELaNa X payload comprises three Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployers, or P-PODs, containing a total of four CubeSats. These four small satellites represent three separate missions: ExoCube, a space weather satellite consisting of three CubeSat units The GEO-CAPE ROIC In-Flight Performance Experiment, or GRIFEX, a technology validation mission also consisting of three CubeSat units FIREBIRD-II …

Valves are opening and cryogenic liquid oxygen is about to begin flowing into the Delta II rocket's first stage. After tanking, the occasional puff of gaseous oxygen will be visible outside the rocket's midsection throughout the remainder of the countdown. This is normal; as the liquid oxygen warms, small amounts of it will boil off …

The Delta II family of rockets has a lengthy and successful flight history. NASA has relied on various configurations of the Delta II for a number of high-profile missions, such as the Earth-observing Aquarius and Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, telescopes such as Kepler and WISE, and several Mars missions, including Mars Pathfinder and the Spirit and …

NASA Launch Manager Tim Dunn (in the center of the photo at right) has given his "go" to proceed with loading liquid oxygen into the rocket's first stage. "The NASA team is ready for SMAP cryo tanking," Dunn declared after a quick poll of his team.

The weather forecast continues to look good for launch this morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Skies are partly to mostly cloudy, there's nothing significant on the radar, and winds are light at 9 to 10 knots. There are no watches or warnings in effect, and weather is "green" on all constraints, according to 1st …