Atlas V rocket launch for the US Space Force’s Space Systems Command was postponed due to a leak detected in the rocket fuel ground storage system.
The United Launch Alliance has announced that the launch of the Space Test Program 3, or SPT-3, which will carry a bunch of experimental satellites including NASA’s laser communications tool, has been delayed to early Monday.
The liftoff is now set for 4:04 a.m. EST from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The mission costing $1.14 billion will aid space-based navigation and communications, reports UPI. It also includes a satellite to detect nuclear detonations in space.
“STP-3 is a unique mission, as the Atlas V will deliver STP-3 directly into Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO). This is a highly complex orbital insertion that requires three Centaur burns and precise navigation, a capability unique to the Atlas V,” said Gary Wentz of ULA vice president of government and commercial programs.
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“This is our longest mission to date, at seven hours and 10 minutes until final spacecraft separation,” he said.
The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) aboard the ULA Atlas V rocket will be launched into space for advanced optical communications capabilities as it becomes paramount, according to NASA — which spent roughly $320 million to the mission.
Because of several reasons, the mission had been postponed. “We’ve been working on this for a very long time, so we’re very excited about that,” said Col. Carlos Quinones, director of the Space Force’s Space Test Program.
United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Credit: NASA
Space missions will send their data to the LCRD that will transmit the data to ground stations tasked on Earth. What makes the LCRD crucial is that there will be uninterrupted data flowing from space missions to the stations on the surface of our planet. NASA describes it as a “complete end-to-end system.”
The US based-space agency wants to understand how lasers work when they encounter clouds and the atmosphere. “We’re really trying to figure out the best way to send large amounts of data from the moon or Mars,” said David Israel, NASA’s exploration and space communications division architect.
