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| Delta 4 launches Air Force satellite |
| 2003-03-11 |
| After more than a month of delays, the Air Force launched a defense satellite that will allow faster communication between U.S. defense officials and battlefield commanders. The blast off on Monday of the Boeing Delta 4 rocket was the first space launch in the United States since space shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas on February 1. The $200 million satellite will become part of the United States' national security communications network, which relays secure data to the White House, U.S. embassies and military personnel. The launch was also the first military mission of an Air Force program designed to produce and launch rockets in a more efficient and less expensive manner. The launch had been scheduled for February 7, but was postponed out of respect for the Columbia astronauts. It was postponed again February 10 to give engineers a chance to check for potential problems in a steering mechanism. Lets see a show of hands to those who believe this cover story? Saturday, a problem with a fuel pump housing and a countdown glitch postponed the launch again. High winds forecast for Sunday night pushed the launch to Monday. And the best part is it will take several days for people on the ground to be able to predict the orbit, and even more days to get that info out to the field, so for at least a month we'll be able to get a clear unobstructed view of whats on the ground. |
| Posted by:Frank Martin |