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Malfunctioning Component Delays Satellite Launch
377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs Kirtland AFB NM (SPX) Jan 16, 2009 Air Force officials here are delaying the launch of Tactical Satellite-3 until repairs to a spacecraft avionics component, critical to the system's operational capability, are complete. Although scheduled to launch in late January, the program team is working with the manufacturer to resolve the problem. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate here administers the satellite program, known as TacSat-3. When ready, the TacSat-3 launch will occur at NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va. "We're very disappointed in the delay, but the fix is necessary to assure the on-orbit performance of the satellite," said Thom Davis, a TacSat-3 program manager. "Had we not discovered and corrected this problem, we would have had a potential catastrophic mission failure." The satellite originated five years ago to address military requirements for responsible, flexible and affordable spacecraft operating in the cosmos. It consists of three pioneering experiments: the Raytheon Company-constructed Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer hyperspectral imager; the Office of Naval Research's satellite communications package; and AFRL's space avionics experiment. The trio of payloads will offer real-time imagery (within 10 minutes of collection), sea-based information transmitted from ocean buoys and plug-and-play avionics to support the warfighter in keeping one step ahead of the adversary. Project partners include AFRL's Sensors Directorate, NASA, the Department of Defense's Operationally Responsive Space office, the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Development and Test Wing, Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Air Force Space Command, the Office of Naval Research, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Kirkland Air Force Base Air Force Research Laboratory Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com
Planetspace Files Protest Against Competition In Space
Chicago IL (SPX) Jan 14, 2009PlanetSpace has filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) a protest to the selection decision of NASA under the ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) competition, RFP NNJ08ZBG001R. |
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