Technical glitches delay Delta 4 launch
Posted: Sat, Mar 8, 2003, 11:51 PM ET (0451 GMT)
A series of minor technical problems forced controllers to scrub Saturday night's scheduled launch of a Delta 4 booster, rescheduling the launch for Sunday. The Delta 4 Medium was scheduled to lift off from pad 37B at Cape Canaveral at 6:44 pm EST (2344 GMT) Saturday, carrying the DSCS 3-A3 military communications satellite. However, the launch was delayed because of problems rolling back the mobile servicing tower earlier in the day. The launch was further delayed to allow the temperature of a upper stage fuel pump to cool to an acceptable level. An attempt was made to launch at 7:45 pm (0045 GMT), but the countdown stopped at the T-3:07 mark because of an alarm dealing with the booster's main engine. Controllers attempted to solve the problem and restart the countdown before the launch window closed at 8:01 pm EST (0101 GMT), but ran out of time. The launch has been rescheduled for 6:43 pm EST (2343 GMT) Sunday. The launch will be the second for the Delta 4 and the first military mission for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, which includes the Delta 4 and Atlas 5.
A series of minor technical problems forced controllers to scrub Saturday night's scheduled launch of a Delta 4 booster, rescheduling the launch for Sunday. The Delta 4 Medium was scheduled to lift off from pad 37B at Cape Canaveral at 6:44 pm EST (2344 GMT) Saturday, carrying the DSCS 3-A3 military communications satellite. However, the launch was delayed because of problems rolling back the mobile servicing tower earlier in the day. The launch was further delayed to allow the temperature of a upper stage fuel pump to cool to an acceptable level. An attempt was made to launch at 7:45 pm (0045 GMT), but the countdown stopped at the T-3:07 mark because of an alarm dealing with the booster's main engine. Controllers attempted to solve the problem and restart the countdown before the launch window closed at 8:01 pm EST (0101 GMT), but ran out of time. The launch has been rescheduled for 6:43 pm EST (2343 GMT) Sunday. The launch will be the second for the Delta 4 and the first military mission for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, which includes the Delta 4 and Atlas 5.
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