Stardust launch delayed
FROM: Vince Stricherz
vinces@u.washington.edu
DATE: Feb. 6, 1999
Technical problem halts Stardust launch in last two minutes
The Stardust mission to collect samples from a comet and return them to Earth was delayed today less than two minutes before the spacecraft was to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Station.
Launch controllers halted the countdown because an indicator showed a radar instrument on the Delta II launch vehicle was not functioning properly.
Because the mission requires a precise trajectory, the launch window is very narrow -- about one second today. That means the launch had to be delayed at least until Sunday, when the launch time would be at about 4:04 p.m.