LAUNCH DELAYED FIVE MINUTES TO AVOID COMING NEAR ORBITING INTERNATIONAL SPACE SATION
The space station was caused a five-minute delay in today's Delta II GPS launch that will now take place at 3:04 p.m. EST.
Regulations require a 100-mile buffer zone between the satellite and any other orbiting object, of which there are more than 8,000.
The rocket is fueled and ready.
Weather conditions remain favorable for launch. Launch control teams are working no issues.
This could be the 78th successful Delta launch since the last accident.
Spacecraft separation will take place 68 minutes after launch.
"The spacecraft, designated GPS IIR-18M, is a modernized version of the Block IIR series designed to enhance the GPS constellation for military and civilian GPS users around the globe. The modernized series delivers increased signal power to receivers on the ground, two new military signals for improved accuracy, enhanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities for the military, and a second civil signal to provide users with an open access signal on a different frequency." - Lockheed Martin
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
No comments:
Post a Comment