Delta 2 launches GPS satellite
Posted: Mon, Mar 31, 2003, 8:33 PM ET (0133 GMT)
A Delta 2 booster successfully launched a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite Monday afternoon. The Delta 2 7925 lifted off from pad 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, at 5:09 pm EST (2209 GMT), and spacecraft separation took place 68 minutes later. The launch took place at the end of a 15-minute launch window; the launch was delayed from the beginning of the window because of two range problems. The Delta 2 carried the GPS 2R-9 satellite built by Lockheed Martin. The launch was the second Delta 2 launch of a GPS satellite in as many months, with a third scheduled for July. While new GPS satellites are normally made operational about 60 days after launch, Air Force officials said this new satellite would be pressed into service within two weeks to support the war in Iraq. The next Delta 2 launch is scheduled for mid-April with the inaugural flight of the Delta 2 Heavy, a Delta 2 with the larger strap-on boosters developed for the Delta 3. That booster will launch NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) spacecraft.
A Delta 2 booster successfully launched a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite Monday afternoon. The Delta 2 7925 lifted off from pad 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, at 5:09 pm EST (2209 GMT), and spacecraft separation took place 68 minutes later. The launch took place at the end of a 15-minute launch window; the launch was delayed from the beginning of the window because of two range problems. The Delta 2 carried the GPS 2R-9 satellite built by Lockheed Martin. The launch was the second Delta 2 launch of a GPS satellite in as many months, with a third scheduled for July. While new GPS satellites are normally made operational about 60 days after launch, Air Force officials said this new satellite would be pressed into service within two weeks to support the war in Iraq. The next Delta 2 launch is scheduled for mid-April with the inaugural flight of the Delta 2 Heavy, a Delta 2 with the larger strap-on boosters developed for the Delta 3. That booster will launch NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) spacecraft.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, July 28
European start-up with SpaceX ambitions aims for a $2bn valuation
Financial Times — 7:06 am ET (1106 GMT) Europe's Ariane 6 rocket launches on postage stamps from France
collectSPACE — 7:05 am ET (1105 GMT) Amazon seeks federal approval to launch 5,105 satellites for direct-to-device network
CNBC — 7:04 am ET (1104 GMT) USSPACECOM releases Space Warfighting Environment 2040 as framework to ensure future of Joint Force’s all-domain advantage
US Space Command — 7:02 am ET (1102 GMT) Rocket Lab to launch up to 18 Space Force test vehicles from Alaska
Stars and Stripes — 7:02 am ET (1102 GMT) |
