To: SafetyAgentMan who wrote (5960 ) 5/3/1999 1:26:00 AM From: SafetyAgentMan Respond to
May 3, 1999
One rocket's troubles could spill over to others
By Justin Ray
FLORIDA TODAY
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The unsuccessful launch of a military
communications satellite aboard an Air Force Titan 4B/Centaur rocket is
threatening to delay the next two launches from the Space Coast.
Officials managing the two missions are awaiting further information of
what may or may not have caused Friday's botched launch.
Early indications implicated the Centaur upper stage, which features
engines similar to those used on the Boeing Delta 3 rocket's second
stage and the Centaur stage flown on Lockheed Martin Atlas vehicles.
First up is the planned Tuesday night launch of Boeing's Delta 3 booster
carrying Loral Space and Communications' Orion 3 spacecraft.
That launch had been scheduled for Sunday, but officials decided to wait
two additional days before making the fifth attempt to fly the Delta 3.
Boeing plans to hold its Launch Readiness Review at 3 p.m. EDT today. A
decision on whether to proceed with a Tuesday launch is expected to be
made during the meeting.
Tuesday's available launch window extends from 8:56 to 10:04 p.m. EDT.
Meanwhile, the planned May 15 launch of the Atlas 2A rocket carrying the
GOES-L weather satellite for NASA and NOAA also could be postponed.
For now, workers plan to press ahead with preparations including a
countdown rehearsal on Tuesday in which the rocket will be fueled in a
demonstration test. Also Tuesday, the GOES-L spacecraft will be
encapsulated inside its payload fairing at the Astrotech processing
facility near Titusville.
"That will take us through Tuesday night. Then at that point we will
stop and see where we are based on what (the investigators) have been
able to learn since then," said NASA spokesman George Diller.
Lockheed Martin is launching the satellite for NASA.
Beyond Tuesday, a decision would be made on whether the satellite should
be transported to launch pad 36A for mating with the Centaur stage atop
the Atlas booster.
"(We'll) see how the chips have fallen to decide what we do next,"
Diller said.
