Posted: Sat, Aug 18, 2007, 11:23 AM ET (1523 GMT)
The Defense Department has canceled plans to launch a technology demonstration satellite on a Falcon 1 rocket, Space News reported this week. The spacecraft, the first in a series of spacecraft designed to test technologies and operations for a new generation of operationally responsive spacecraft, had its launch delayed several times as SpaceX continued development of its Falcon 1 small launch vehicle. TacSat-1 has since been superceded by TacSat-2, launched late last year, and the Naval Research Laboratory, which managed the mission, elected to cancel the launch because of the success of TacSat-2. The Defense Department has not cancelled its launch contract, however, and SpaceX plans to carry out the launch with another payload or none at all. The news came as a surprise to many since SpaceX reported as recently as this week at a smallsat conference in Utah that TacSat-1 was still planned to go up on the next Falcon 1 launch, scheduled for the first quarter of 2008.
