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NASA Taurus XL Failure Investigation Delays Minotaur 4 Launch

By Jeffrey Hill | April 28, 2011

      [Satellite TODAY 04-28-11] NASA has postponed its scheduled May launch of a Minotaur 4 rocket from its Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska due to its similarities to the Orbital Sciences Taurus XL rocket, which crashed after takeoff from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in March, the agency announced April 27.
          NASA said it is still investigating the failed Taurus XL launch, which it believes was caused by a failure in its nose fairing to detach, making the rocket too heavy to exit the Earth’s atmosphere.
          According to NASA, the launch delay also was affected by a planned rocket launch from another aerospace facility in Virginia, meaning the Kodiak launch may not happen until the summer or fall of this year.