Posted: Mon, Apr 23, 2007, 8:25 AM ET (1225 GMT)
The launch of an experimental military satellite was scrubbed early Monday. A Minotaur 1 was scheduled to lift off in the early morning hours Monday, carrying the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) spacecraft. However, the launch was scrubbed at around 3 am EDT (0700 GMT), a half-hour before the scheduled liftoff time at the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia, because of an issue with ground support equipment. The launch has been rescheduled for no earlier than 2:48 am EDT (0648 GMT) Tuesday. NFIRE is a Missile Defense Agency spacecraft designed to test space-based sensors for detecting missile launches that could be used for future missile defense systems.
