NASA on Wednesday pushed back by one day launch of its Glory Earth-observation satellite, the US space agency said.

"Launch of NASA's Glory spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California has been postponed at least 24 hours, with the next attempt coming no earlier than Thursday, February 24, at 5:09 am EST (1009 GMT)," NASA said in a statement.

Officials said the delay was the result of an "unexpected reading" on instruments during the final 15 minutes before Wednesday's scrubbed launch.

"The cause and potential effect of the reading was not fully understood," the US space agency said, adding that space officials were "troubleshooting the issue."

The satellite was to be launched on four-stage Taurus XL rocket.

Data from the Glory mission will allow scientists to better understand how the sun and tiny atmospheric particles called "aerosols" affect Earth's climate and how they may affect human life.