spacetoday.net: Delta launches GPS satellite

Posted: Wed, Jun 23, 2004, 11:44 PM ET (0344 GMT)
Delta 2 launch of GPS 2R-12 (Boeing)

A Boeing Delta 2 successfully launched a GPS navigation satellite Wednesday night after weeks of technical and weather-related delays. The Delta 2 7925 lifted off from Pad 17B at Cape Canaveral at 6:54 pm EDT (2254 GMT) Wednesday. Its payload, GPS 2R-12, separated from the vehicle 26 minutes later. The spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, will supplement the existing satellites of the Global Positioning System. The launch had been delayed several times, originally because of minor technical issues with the rocket, and more recently because of stormy weather at the Cape. Launch attempts on three successive days, Saturday through Monday, were scrubbed because of weather. The delays had become a concern because the pad is scheduled to launch another Delta 2 carrying NASA's MESSENGER mission to Mercury at the end of July; if the delays had continued much longer then MESSENGER's launch date could have been affected.