There will be no attempt to launch Delta IV Heavy from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today as the company continues working with NASA and other US government agencies to correct the gaseous nitrogen problem that caused a scrub at T-minus three minutes and fifty-eight seconds last Thursday.

Scheduling Sites Were April Fooled:

According to many space launch scheduling sites, today was the expected day for the last Delta IV Heavy to head to orbit with the NROL-70 payload aboard. Those sites often use reliable secondary sources to make their scheduling predictions, for example, FAA notifications to pilots of planned launch activities. ULA never officially announced a new date for a launch attempt, and apparently, work continues on the issues that caused the original scrub.

While the scheduling sites are nearly always accurate in their lists, this time they panned out some fool’s gold and were incorrect.

ULA Update On Sunday, March 30

Saturday, Talk of Titusville asked ULA CEO Tory Bruno for an update, and this was his reply:

Bruno also added that “[A]s frustrating as this delay might be, The overall all level of support we get from our USG partners is outstanding. Far better than anything we might experience on a daily basis in an average commercial airport going to and from a launch.” Clearly, everyone involved is working hard to rectify the issues keeping NROL-70 and Delta IV Heavy grounded.

Attempt on April 8?

Meanwhile, it appears that an April 8 launch attempt may be in the cards:

Keep in mind that this is the from the same set of sources that were incorrect over the weekend.

That is the same day and roughly the same time that a total solar eclipse will be making its way across a large swath of the US. The Space Coast will only see a partial eclipse, but it could be an interesting time to see a rocket in flight in the daytime.

Take it for what it is worth — ULA has still not announced a firm date/time for Delta IV Heavy as of the time of this writing. (Monday, April 1st at 8:30 AM EDT.)

Check back here at Talk of Titusville for any updates. We will pass them along as soon as they are available.