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Vandenberg AFB - January 27, 1999 - Officials have scrubbed the launch of a Boeing [NYSE: BA] Delta II expendable launch vehicle carrying the ARGOS spacecraft for the U.S. Air Force due to upper level winds. The Air Force will make another launch attempt of the Boeing-built ARGOS spacecraft on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 2:35:33 a.m. PST. The ARGOS launch has two NASA-sponsored secondary payloads, the Ersted satellite for Denmark and the SUNSAT micro-satellite for South Africa.
Weather Continues To Postpone Delta II Launch of ARGOS Satellite
ARGOS Postponed until Tuesday Jan 26Satellite
The ARGOS launch has two NASA-sponsored secondary payloads, the Orsted
satellite for Denmark and the SUNSAT micro-satellite for South Africa.
Weather Postpones Delta II Launch of ARGOS Satellite
The launch of Boeing-built ARGOS spacecraft was postponed until Friday
morning at 2:37:51 a.m. PST. The decision was made due to predictions
that if the range had to destroy the rocket during flight, debris could land in populated areas due to the direction and magnitude of winds at the time of launch.
Boeing will host a live video feed from 2:25 to 4:45 a.m. PST. Satellite coordinates are: GE 2C, transponder 6, located at 85 degrees west, uplink frequency 6045 (vertical), downlink frequency 3820 (horizontal). A live webcast also will be carried (www.boeing.com) from 2:25 to 4:45 a.m. PST. The ARGOS launch has two NASA-sponsored secondary payloads, the Orsted satellite for Denmark and the SUNSAT micro-satellite for South Africa.
Delta II Launch of ARGOS Satellite Postponed
Weather Delays Delta Argos Launch To Wednesday
Boeing is proceeding with plans for a launch on Wednesday, Jan. 20,
and will evaluate weather conditions tomorrow morning. Updated launch
and broadcast information will be issued as it becomes available. The Argos launch has two NASA-sponsored secondary payloads, the Orsted
satellite for Denmark and the SUNSAT micro-satellite for South Africa.
Following a morning weather briefing, the decision was made to make another launch attempt on Tuesday morning. The launch window on Tuesday, Jan. 19 is 2:39 a.m. PST.
The ARGOS launch has two NASA-sponsored secondary payloads, the Orsted spacecraft for Denmark, and the SUNSAT micro-satellite for South Africa.
The same Boeing rocket will carry two additional NASA-sponsored payloads, the Orsted satellite for Denmark and the SUNSAT micro-satellite for South Africa. As the prime contractor, Boeing developed the three-ton ARGOS spacecraft and integrated its nine experimental payloads. The company will provide the Air Force with one year of support in coordinating the phased sequence of the nine on-orbit experiments.
"ARGOS will be the largest and most sophisticated research and development satellite Boeing has ever orbited for the Air Force," said Will Hampton, Boeing director of U.S. Air Force Delta Programs. "We are proud to provide the Air Force with the Boeing Delta II rocket that will launch this important scientific endeavor," Hampton said.
ARGOS will spend three years in space collecting valuable data on the Earth's global environment and performing technology demonstrations for top-priority military space programs. The nine ARGOS payloads will address more than 30 research objectives, including sensor technology for the International Space Station and the detection of orbital debris, as well as advanced propulsion and computer experiments.
"The ARGOS satellite will provide a tremendous payoff in critical technologies such as imaging, satellite propulsion and space-based computing. These areas will become important as more and more applications of space are developed," said Col. Tom Mead, program manager of the DoD Space Test Program.
NASA is providing a Global Positioning System (GPS) TurboRogue receiver and satellite laser tracking retroreflector for SUNSAT and a GPS receiver and magnetometer for Orsted. NASA is also providing the launch for both SUNSAT and Orsted onboard the Delta II. NASA also owns the SLC-2 launch pad at Vandenberg from which the Boeing Delta II 7920 will lift both satellites, in addition to ARGOS.
Orsted will be delivered to a near sun-synchronous orbit, carrying scientific equipment to study the Earth's magnetic fields and electrical properties. The satellite is semiautonomous with control provided by its onboard computer.
The SUNSAT micro-satellite will be used for remote sensing and amateur radio communication. It was built by the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa to provide services that include data collection and message, file and image transfer. The primary objectives of the mission include the training of graduate students, the stimulation of research and the fostering of international interaction. Boeing builds the Delta II 7920 rocket in Huntington Beach, Calif., while its Canoga Park, Calif., facility produces the Rocketdyne RS-27 first-stage main engine. Final assembly takes place at the Boeing facility in Pueblo, Colo. The Delta launch team at Vandenberg Air Force Base handles launch coordination and operations for the mission.
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