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Final polling is complete and SMAP is configured for launch at 9:22 a.m. EST. The Delta II rocket will depart the launch pad heading south at an azimuth of 196 degrees. The three ATK solid rocket motors will burn for 65 seconds and be jettisoned 99 seconds into flight. Delta II main engine cutoff will …

Upper level winds are now “green” and the final poll is coming up prior to release of the T-4 minute hold.

NASA Launch Manager Tim Dunn has polled his controllers and announced the NASA team is ‘go’ for launch of SMAP. Dunn remarked that the vehicle and spacecraft are healthy, the Western Range is clear and the weather is good. Upper level winds remain the concern.

This is the final planned hold of the countdown. Managers overseeing the launch will conduct final readiness polls and SMAP will be transferred to internal power. Liftoff is scheduled for 9:22 a.m. EST.

The launch team now is targeting 9:22 a.m. EST to allow additional time to analyze upper level wind data in order to determine whether launch will be possible today.

There are no technical concerns and weather remains observed “go” and forecast to be 100 percent “go” for launch of the United Launch Alliance Delta II carrying NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft to space. Upper level winds are 74 knots at about 40,000 feet.

The countdown has resumed. There is one more hold coming up at the T-4 minute mark.

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 known as ExoCube, GRIFEX and FIREBIRD-II (A and B). Learn more about each of these missions with the ELaNa X fact sheet. For more about the ELaNa project, visit …

This is a built-in hold lasting 20 minutes.

The rocket’s engines are being put through a series of movements, called “slews,” to verify they’re able to steer properly. Slew checks begin with the second stage and finish with the first stage.