Posted: Wed, May 16, 2001, 3:40 PM ET (1940 GMT)
Replacement of a potentially faulty set of hoses has delayed Thursday's launch of an experimental military satellite on a Delta 2 by one day. Boeing officials delayed the launch, scheduled for Thursday afternoon, after tests of another Delta 2 turned up a leak in one of three flexible hoses in the booster's first-stage engine. The 24-hour delay will give technicians time to replace the hoses in the booster on the launch pad as a precaution. Launch is now scheduled to take place during a 79-minute window that begins at 1:07 pm EDT (1707 GMT) Friday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The booster will place into orbit the Geosynchronous Lightweight Technology Experiment (GeoLITE), a National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft built by TRW that will test an experimental laser communications system.

Related Links:

•  Boeing press release