The launch of ESA's Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) has been confirmed for Tuesday, March 17th, at 15:21 CET. The problem that halted the countdown has been identified and solved. Launch will be streamed at ESA's website and broadcast live on ESA TV.

GOCE is ESA's first Earth Explorer mission and will map global variations in the gravity field with extreme detail and accuracy and will be placed into a low altitude orbit by a Russian Rokot vehicle from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia. . This will result in a unique model of the geoid, which is the surface of equal gravitational potential defined by the gravity field. This model of the gravity field is crucial for deriving accurate measurements of ocean circulation and sea-level change, both of which are affected by climate change. GOCE-derived data are also much needed to understand more about processes occurring inside Earth and for use in practical applications such as surveying and levelling.

(Photo credit: The launch tower at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The tower holds the Rockot launcher carrying ESA's gravity satellite GOCE ready to launch — ESA - S. Corvaja, 2009)