Pad mishap delays Delta launch
Posted: Wed, Oct 30, 2002, 11:48 PM ET (0448 GMT)
An accident at the launch pad last week has indefinitely delayed the launch of a GPS satellite on a Delta 2 booster. According to published reports, a crane operators accidentally hoisted the booster's upper stage and GPS satellite after they had already been connected to the lower stages of the booster. The incident may have caused damage to both the Delta 2's second stage as well as the upper stage and satellite. The incident is expected to delay the launch, scheduled for November 7, at least a month. The delay could also have an affect on the planned January launch of NASA's SIRTF infrared observatory mission, which is scheduled to use a Delta 2 on the same pad at Cape Canaveral. A neighboring pad is vacant, but cannot accommodate the larger solid-propellant strap-on boosters that SIRTF's Delta 2 will require. The GPS satellite's booster may be destacked and moved to the other pad to permit SIRTF to launch on schedule.
An accident at the launch pad last week has indefinitely delayed the launch of a GPS satellite on a Delta 2 booster. According to published reports, a crane operators accidentally hoisted the booster's upper stage and GPS satellite after they had already been connected to the lower stages of the booster. The incident may have caused damage to both the Delta 2's second stage as well as the upper stage and satellite. The incident is expected to delay the launch, scheduled for November 7, at least a month. The delay could also have an affect on the planned January launch of NASA's SIRTF infrared observatory mission, which is scheduled to use a Delta 2 on the same pad at Cape Canaveral. A neighboring pad is vacant, but cannot accommodate the larger solid-propellant strap-on boosters that SIRTF's Delta 2 will require. The GPS satellite's booster may be destacked and moved to the other pad to permit SIRTF to launch on schedule.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, February 6
Astrobotic secures new lunar payload after NASA nixed rover last year
Pittsburgh Business Times — 6:25 am ET (1125 GMT) 'Pushing forward': Astrobotic secures new rover for second lunar mission
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — 6:24 am ET (1124 GMT) Pittsburgh's lunar mission gets a second life
Axios — 6:24 am ET (1124 GMT) Astrobotic’s Griffin Lander Has New Inaugural Lunar Mission
Aviation Week — 6:23 am ET (1123 GMT) Putin Sacks Roscosmos Chief Yury Borisov Amid Setbacks at Space Agency
Moscow Times — 6:22 am ET (1122 GMT) |
