Thursday, December 10, 2009

West Coast Delta II Launch Delayed At Least A Day

The launch of a NASA science observatory from a California air base is being delayed at least 24 hours as a result of potential trouble detected with a booster steering system.

Mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, also known by the acronym WISE, had been slated to blast off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base on Friday.

However, during final systems checks, a potential problem was detected in a motor used to steer one of the rocket's strap-on solid rocket boosters. The launch is being delayed at least 24 hours to give engineers time to troubleshoot the issue.

ABOUT THE IMAGE: Click to enlarge the NASA image of the build-up of Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is being prepped to launch NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Photo credit: NASA/VAFB.

7 comments:

jaxdodger said...

Wow! Waddya knnow, hard to believe, a launch delay because of trouble with a system, like it wasn't expected! NASA never launchs on the first try, and they wonder why there is no more taxpayer money for this bunch of incompetents!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it's like the last Space Shuttle mission (STS-129 for those not following, jax) didn't launch EXACTLY on time on its FIRST try, have a near-perfect mission, and then land EXACTLY on time on it's FIRST attempt....

Anonymous said...

Delta II solid boosters do not have steering as far as i know

Anonymous said...

One correction to the posting: WISE was never scheduled to launch this morning (Thursday). The launch date had moved from Wednesday to Friday, and now Saturday.

"jaxdodger", you seem to be an expert on incompetence. I assume you would have provided a more extensive tutorial if NASA had launched the rocket without fixing this problem, and the mission had failed.

Todd Halvorson said...

Anonnymous: Thanks for the correction. We've fixed the copy.

jaxdodger said...

Anonymous is an apt name for the die hard NASA fans. Yes to all, I am an expert on competence so I recognize incompetence instantly, I am also proud of our accomplishments in space exploration but not at all impressed by the expenses incurred in doing so. You guys (all the anonymouses) must be part of the legalized welfare system that is NASA, just see if you can get hired by REAL aeronautical engineering firms. I must say I was surprised by my comments being posted (they usually are not posted after"review") and I must credit Todd for that and I understand he might be out of work if NASA funding is cut so I understand his bias. Good luck to all and happy holidays.

Anonymous said...

"Anonymous" above is correct; the Delta II solids do not have steerable nozzles. The problem is on the first stage.