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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Globalstar Telecommunications Limited GSAT -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Valueman who wrote (5129)	6/8/1999 9:29:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

Update for 9:22 a.m. EDT Steering checks of the first and second stage engine nozzles are now under way. Update for 9:20 a.m. EDT T-minus 30 minutes and counting. The countdown marches on at Cape Canaveral Air Station for this morning's planned launch of a Boeing Delta 2 rocket. Liftoff is now one hour away. Countdown clocks are proceeding toward T-minus 20 minutes where a 20-minute hold is planned. One further hold, for 10 minutes, is scheduled at T-minus 4 minutes. Today's launch along with three others planned through mid-August by the Boeing Delta program were hastily arranged by Globalstar last September. The company was forced to rethink its satellite deployment campaign in the wake of failure. A Ukrainian Zenit 2 rocket malfunctioned minutes after launching from Kazakstan, destroying 12 Globalstar satellites in the process. Boeing had successfully placed Globalstar's first eight satellites into space during a pair of Delta 2 launches in February and April 1998. Following the Zenit failure, three Starsem Soyuz rockets have launched 12 satellites from Kazakstan earlier this year. There are currently 20 satellites in orbit of the intended 48-spacecraft constellation. Beyond today's planned launch, Boeing tentatively plans to fly Delta rockets each carrying four Globalstar satellites on July 2, Aug. 6 and Aug. 16. That would give Globalstar enough satellites to begin initial service in the third quarter of this year. "After the problems they had last year, we re-evaluated what our production line could do, we reassigned some vehicles around to accommodate what Globalstar felt they needed and what we could do. We did have to build some unique hardware for them, which is their dispenser and the fairing which weren't in production at the time. We accommodated that, and based on what we could deliver here to the Cape, (Rich Murphy, Boeing's director of launch sites) worked his capability and as well as the Range, as well as meeting Globalstar's needs since they had some other launches on Soyuz to get off. And we ended up with the manifest we currently have," said Jay Witzling, Boeing's Delta 2 program director. Starsem Soyuz rockets are slated to deliver a dozen more satellites to orbit in launches slated for September, October and November. If all goes as planned, that would complete Globalstar's operational satellite fleet. Boeing would then follow with a Dec. 7 launch of four more satellites to serve as on-orbit spares. "We are talking about Globalstar about future launches, but they really revolve around the maintenance activity. Assuming they get good satellites, they won't need them for awhile," Witzling said. Update for 9:15 a.m. EDT Air Force Launch Weather Officer Joel Tumbiolo just informed Boeing Mission Director Rich Murphy there is only a 20 percent chance weather will be within limits for liftoff today at 10:20:50 a.m. EDT. Update for 9:05 a.m. EDT Boeing officials are pressing ahead with today's scheduled launch of a Delta 2 rocket while keeping a close on weather conditions at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. At present, weather is unacceptable for launch due anvil clouds that are within 10 nautical miles. In addition, rain is pushing northward from South Florida and headed for the Cape. Air Force meteorologists say rain could begin falling at the launch site after 11 a.m. EDT. Launch is scheduled for 10:20:50 a.m. EDT. Update for 9:01 a.m. EDT Loading of cryogenic liquid oxygen into the Delta rocket's first stage was completed to 100 percent at 9:00:55 a.m. EDT. The tanking took 23 minutes, 22 seconds today.