spacetoday.net: Delta 4 launch postponed

Delta 4 launch postponed

Posted: Sat, Nov 20, 2010, 8:08 AM ET (1308 GMT)
Delta 4 Heavy on launch pad (Boeing)

The launch of a classified spacecraft on a Delta 4 Heavy was postponed Friday because of a fueling problem. The Delta 4 Heavy was scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday evening, on the NROL-32 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. The launch was postponed, though, a few hours before launch because of anomalous temperature readings on the two strap-on boosters as they were being loaded with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. No new launch date was announced. The nature of the heavy payload atop the rocket has not been disclosed, but observers speculate it is an electronic eavesdropping satellite with a large antenna to intercept signals.