Launch of planet-hunting spacecraft pushed to Wednesday

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - SpaceX has scrubbed the launch of a planet-hunting spacecraft for NASA that was slated to go up Monday evening.  

The company said additional analysis of guidance, navigation, and control systems was needed before they could proceed.   They are targeting a new launch window for Wednesday, thought a specific time was not immediately announced.

Once launched, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite - Tess for short - will embark on a two-year quest to find and identify mystery worlds thought to be lurking in our cosmic backyard. The spacecraft aims to add thousands of exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system, to the galactic map for future study.

Life might be out there, whether microbial or more advanced, and scientists say Tess and later missions will help answer the age-old question of whether we're alone.

Tess is flying on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, scheduled to blast off at 6:32 p.m. Monday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.