NASA to attempt delayed launch of Parker Solar Probe at 1pm: Watch live here

Take two. After a last-minute technical problem forced NASA to **postpone by 24 hours** the launch of its first mission to explore the Sun, the agency plans to try again on Sunday. The new, 60-minute launch window opens at 1.01 pm (IST) for the **Parker Solar Probe** , a $1.5 billion unmanned spacecraft that aims to get closer than any human-made object in history to the center of our solar system, if all goes according to plan. You can watch the live stream here:

The probe is designed to plunge into the Sun’s mysterious atmosphere, known as the corona, coming within 6.16 million kilometers of its surface during a seven-year mission. It is protected by an ultra-powerful heat shield that can endure unprecedented levels of heat, and radiation 500 times that experienced on Earth. The **car-sized probe** is designed to give scientists a better understanding of solar wind and geomagnetic storms that risk wreaking chaos on Earth by knocking out the power grid. [caption id=“attachment_4876351” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Illustration of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. Image: NASA[/caption] Saturday’s scrub was caused by a helium gas sensor that surpassed a launch limit on the Delta IV-Heavy rocket, United Launch Alliance said. The weather forecast was expected to be about 60 percent favorable for launch, according to ULA. With inputs from AFP