NASA and Boeing officials are looking into whether an incident that damaged an antenna on a next-generation satellite planned to launch Aug. 3 will change the missions timeline. <\/p>\n
The episode occurred Friday and was announced on the agencys website Saturday. <\/p>\n
The Tracking Data Relay Satellite, known as TDRS-M, was scheduled to head into space on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the Space Coast. <\/p>\n
The accident happened during final spacecraft closeout activities, according to the release. <\/p>\n
United Launch Alliance and NASA officials did not immediately return emails requesting comment. <\/p>\n
A 40-minute window for the launch of the TDRS-M satellite aboard ULAs Atlas V rocket is set to open at 9:02 a.m. Aug. 3. Officials arent saying whether the incident will delay that launch. <\/p>\n
The mission team is developing a plan to assess flight acceptance and the schedule forward, the statement read. <\/p>\n
Here is the full statement NASA released Saturday: <\/p>\n
NASA and Boeing are reviewing an incident that occurred during final spacecraft closeout activities on the Tracking Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-M) mission at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, on July 14, involving the Omni S-band antenna. The mission team is developing a plan to assess flight acceptance and the schedule forward. These additional activities are under evaluation for a planned TDRS-M launch Aug. 3, 2017, on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. <\/p>\n
Got a news tip? msantana@orlandosentinel.com<\/a> or 407-420-5256; Twitter, @marcosantana <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read the original here:<\/p>\n NASA considers delay of next-gen satellite launch after 'incident' - Orlando Sentinel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NASA and Boeing officials are looking into whether an incident that damaged an antenna on a next-generation satellite planned to launch Aug. 3 will change the missions timeline. The episode occurred Friday and was announced on the agencys website Saturday Continue reading