CAPE CANAVERAL AFS, FL - A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with a commercial payload for Intelsat will have to wait until after the space shuttle Atlantis lifts off for its next launch attempt. This morning's countdown was cutoff at the T-4 minute point due to a problem with the electronics that fires various pyrotechnic systems on the vehicle, including the stage separation mechanism.
READ: ATLAS 5 AV-024 MISSION OVERVIEW READ: LAUNCH HAZARD AREA MAP READ: NOVEMBER 13 LAUNCH WEATHER FORECAST The countdown had gone extremely smoothly up to the point the launch attempt was scrubbed. Even the fickle Florida weather was cooperating, with clear breezy skies offering a 90% chance the weather conditions would permit a liftoff. Unfortunately, a brief power dropout with the Ordnance Remote Control Assembly (ORCA) late in the countdown forced the launch team to halt the attempt for the day after technicians were unable to pinpoint the cause of the dropout in laboratory tests. Because there's no access to the upper portions of the rocket at the launch pad, workers will have to roll the vehicle back to the Vertical Integration Building for troubleshooting. As a result, Atlas is unable to make another launch attempt tomorrow before the Eastern Range is reconfigured for the Atlantis launch, already booked for November 16. The official statement from United Launch Alliance is as follows: The launch of the Intelsat-14 spacecraft aboard an Atlas V was scrubbed just after midnight Friday night so that engineers can troubleshoot a temporary power interruption in an electronics component used to control flight events on the Atlas booster. The launch is being conducted for Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services by United Launch Alliance. The launch team executed the standard detanking procedure and will return the vehicle to the vertical integration facility to remove the electronics box for further investigation. The spacecraft is secure. A new launch date has not been established at this time. (The Spacearium / SpaceflightNews.net)
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