NASA Postpones Space Imagery Satellite Launch
By Staff Writer | January 11, 2010
[Satellite TODAY 01-11-10] NASA has delayed the launch of its space imagery satellite, Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), due to technical issues discovered in its rocket booster steering engine, the agency announced Jan. 8.
NASA said engineers will replace a suspect component in time for a rescheduled launch Jan. 11. The agency predicts an 80 percent chance of acceptable launch conditions on that date.
WISE, designed to orbit the Earth at its poles while scanning for hidden cosmic objects, originally was scheduled for launch Dec. 11 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket, but was pushed to Jan. 8 due to the same issue with the rocket booster.