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FAA Clears Pegasus For Launch
Washington, DC Dec. 13, 1997 - 
Washington, DC Dec. 13, 1997 - Following an intense ballet of threats and delay, Orbital Sciences Corp. late Thursday announced it had decided to modify the 4th stage of the Pegasus XL space booster awaiting launch from Vandenberg Air Base in California to comply with an FAA order.As a result, the FAA has cleared the rocket for launch pending installation of a venting system to relieve post-launch pressures aboard the rocket. The FAA has grounded the winged booster until the changes were made. Pegasus, carrying eight ORBCOMM satellites will now fly later this week. As SpaceCast went to press Saturday, OSC officials were destacking the rocket from its Lockheed L-1011 carrier aircraft for installation of the vent and software control system. FAA launch inspectors and Air Force officials at Vandenberg were to monitor the changes, which will delay the launch several days. The system will allow the rocket's computer to vent out excess hydrazine fuel from the stage following shutdown in orbit high above the California coast. Officials were concerned that without such a relief system, the excess fuel would gasify and build up pressure so severe that the stage could explode in space, scattering pieces of orbital debris. OSC officials said that they would comply fully with the FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space's order in this and future launches of the Pegasus launch vehicle. CommunityEmail This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Space
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Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India. |
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