Posted: Tue, Jan 25, 2005, 6:37 AM ET (1137 GMT)
The final launch of the Atlas 3, scheduled for Thursday, has been delayed about a week to perform inspections of the vehicle, officials announced Monday. The Atlas 3B was scheduled to launch Thursday from Cape Canaveral to place an unidentified National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload into orbit. The launch was delayed Monday, however, to perform additional inspections on the first-stage fuel tank of the vehicle. The launch has been tentatively rescheduled for February 3. The launch will be the sixth and final flight for the Atlas 3 family, a transitional booster between the older Atlas 2, retired last year, and the Atlas 5 EELV introduced in 2002.

Related Links:

•  Florida Today article
•  Spaceflight Now launch status center