NASA Gets Last Minute Jitters about DART
8 November 2004: NASA’S DART Launch Postponed, NASA
“The launch of NASA’s DART spacecraft aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL scheduled for Tuesday is postponed. A review of projected loads data, or the G-forces the payload experiences upon ignition of the Pegasus second stage, is being re-evaluated to ensure mission success.”
Editor’s note: I had to read this more than once to make sure I got it right. Isn’t this the sort of analysis that should have been done months – perhaps years ago – not days before a launch – one that has already been delayed? Someone sure dropped the ball on this one. Its nice to see that a potential issue was caught in time – but I have to wonder what would have happened if the launch had gone ahead in October. Was this information available at that time?
28 October 2004: DART Launch Postponed Again
27 October 2004: NASA Sets New DART Launch Date
28 October 2004: NASA’s DART launch Postponed
30 September 2004: NASA DART Spacecraft Moves One Step Closer to Fall Launch