PARIS grounded by whipping wind

Today's planned PARIS lift-off has been canned due to high winds at the launch site.

The team was up at the crack of dawn to brave sub-zero temperatures with nothing more than a quick shot of brandy keeping the balls on the brass monkeys.

We may as well have stayed in bed, since despite relatively clear skies, the wind was giving it some serious welly.

The morning wasn't a complete write-off, though, since we took the opportunity to officially christen the Vulture 1. As is the local custom, this was done with a bottle of fine red wine, and here's a fetching snap of the festivities:

With the Vulture 1 suitably blessed, we just need the right conditions to send it on its historic mission. The current state of play indicates that Tuesday is our next window of opportunity, so we'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, we'll have the final aircraft construction snaps ready tomorrow for your viewing pleasure. ®

Additional PARIS resources

• Our dedicated PARIS section, with all previous updates, is right here.
• New to PARIS? We have a basic mission summary here (pdf).
• Our Flickr page, for your viewing pleasure.
• Check out our lovely YouTube channel.