Launch of first Mars Exploration Rover postponed to June 8

WASHINGTON (AFP) May 27, 2003
The launch of the first of two Mars Exploration Rover robots for geological research on the red planet has been delayed until June 8 to give NASA engineers more time to prepare, the space agency said Tuesday.

A final decision on the launch date ws due June 2, according to George Diller, NASA spokesman at Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida, from which the robots were to be launched on Boeing's Delta II missiles.

Asked about the delay, Diller said the scheduled June 5 launch date gave "just not enough time to complete the reviews we need to complete to be sure we are ready for launch."

But there have been "no technical problems," he stressed.

The second launch was scheduled for June 25.

NASA already had decided in mid-April to push back the first launch by a week due to a potential short-circuit risk with the robots.

The first robot is scheduled to reach Mars January 4, 2004 regardless of launch date as long as it is by June 19.

The second robot is scheduled to arrive on Mars January 25, 2004 if it is launched by July 15.

SPACE.WIRE