I used to love watching shuttle launches, and they would sometimes delay missions a day or two due to weather, even if the rain/snow would be over in a few hours. Why couldn’t they just wait instead of delaying?
In: Planetary Science
One possible explanation is the target they are aiming for is out of reach. Let’s say they are trying to rendezvous with craft that is already in orbit. They have a “window” of time to get there, if they miss it, then the craft in orbit may be on the opposite side of the planet when the launch vehicle gets up there.
This would require the launch craft to use additional resources to reach the craft. Additional resources means additional money needs to be spent. It would just be cheaper to wait until the window comes around again.
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