Sunday’s Launch Postponed

SpaceX has confirmed that Sunday’s launch of its third contracted resupply mission to the International Station has been postponed due to a range asset issue. More information including a new target launch date will be posted here and at https://www.nasa.gov/spacex as it becomes available.

UPDATE – The Air Force said in a statement Thursday:

A mandatory range asset supporting the NROL-67 launch went offline, March 24, 2014.  An investigation revealed a tracking radar experienced an electrical short, overheating the unit and rendering it inoperable.  The outage resulted in an inability to meet minimum public safety requirements needed for flight, so the launch was postponed.

Initial assessment indicates repair of the tracking radar will take approximately three weeks.  The Air Force is evaluating the feasibility of returning an inactive radar to full mission capability to resume operations sooner.  The launch schedule impact is to be determined, pending resolution of the anomaly.  Early indications are all launches scheduled for FY14 will be supported. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

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