spacetoday.net: Delta 4 cleared for Tuesday launch

Posted: Tue, Nov 19, 2002, 8:46 AM ET (1346 GMT)
Delta 4 first launch vehicle (Boeing)

Boeing announced late Monday that they plan to move ahead with plans to launch the inaugural Delta 4 rocket on Tuesday evening. The launch, previously scheduled for November 16, was delayed three days because of concerns that the RL-10 engine in the Delta 4's upper stage shared a defect found in another RL-10 engine during a recent test firing. A final review confirmed that the engine in the Delta 4 had no problems, and a final launch readiness review on Monday cleared the way for Tuesday's launch. The vehicle is scheduled to lift off from pad 37B at Cape Canaveral at 5:39 pm EST (2239 GMT), at the beginning of a 70-minute launch window. The booster will carry the Eutelsat W5 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Delta 4 is the second of two vehicles developed under the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program; Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 made its first flight in August.