Posted: Thu, Oct 28, 2004, 12:50 PM ET (1650 GMT)
The launch of a NASA technology demonstration satellite has been postponed until at least the middle of next week because of contamination found in its launch vehicle. The Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft was scheduled to launch late Thursday morning on a Pegasus XL vehicle off the coast from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. However, during launch vehicle closeout processing Wednesday night technicians discovered flakes of aluminum foil from the Pegasus payload fairing. The launch is now scheduled for no earlier than November 4 to give crews enough time to determine and fix the problem. The launch was scheduled for Tuesday but delayed by a combination of inclement weather and technical glitches. DART is scheduled to perform an automated approach and rendezvous with an existing small satellite, MUBLCOM, demonstrating technology that could be used on future missions.

Related Links:

•  Launch delay press release