Launch of the Metop satellite on a Soyuz vehicle was stopped two seconds before engine ignition Oct. 17, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). The Paris-based space agency postponed the mission 24 hours due to technical reasons.

Metop, Europe’s first polar-orbiting satellite, is a joint project of the ESA and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat). The incident marked the fifth postponement of the launch since July.

The Metop satellites are designed to provide weather forecasting and climate monitoring. The planned launches of three spacecraft have been estimated to cost 2.5 billion euros ($3.1 billion).