spacetoday.net: Atlas launch delayed again

Posted: Sun, Aug 29, 2004, 10:12 AM ET (1412 GMT)
Atlas 2AS launches NRO spacecraft

The launch of the final Atlas 2 rocket was delayed for the second consecutive day on Saturday, this time because of a propellant leak on the launch pad. The Atlas 2AS was scheduled to launch at around 7 pm EDT (2300 GMT) Saturday, but controllers scrubbed the launch after a valve on a storage tank at the launch site was inadvertently left open, allowing nearly 40,000 liters of liquid oxygen to leak out. While the spilled propellant posed no risk, it did deplete supplies in the tank enough the controllers felt there would not be enough remaining to top of the propellant tanks in the Atlas vehicle before the launch, forcing the scrub. Weather conditions were also unfavorable for a launch. The launch has been rescheduled for the same time Sunday, although weather forecasts continue to call for poor conditions at launch time because of the threat of thunderstorms. The rocket is carrying a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office only known as NROL-1; no other information about the spacecraft has been released. The launch will be the final mission for the Atlas 2 family of boosters, which is being retired to make way for the more powerful Atlas 5.