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NASA satellite launch postponed for third time
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    • WASHINGTON, April 23 (AFP) Apr 23, 2006
     The US space agency NASA has postponed for a third time in as many days the launch of two satellites designed to help unlock the secrets of Earth's cloud cover, a NASA official said early Sunday.

    Bruce Buckingham, a spokesman for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said in a recorded message that the CloudSat and CALIPSO satellites would not be launched at 1002 GMT Sunday because of unspecified "problems" with a refueling aircraft needed to sustain a radar tracking plane.

    Buckingham said mission managers were meeting to determine whether the postponement will extend for 24 or 48 hours.

    Problems have plagued attempts to deploy the satellites since late last week. Friday's launch was scrubbed due to a communications malfunction, while Saturday's takeoff was postponed when it turned out that a refueling aircraft for a radar tracking plane was again unavailable.

    The spacecraft were expected to help answer questions about how clouds spread and deliver precipitation around the globe as well as how they affect the Earth's atmosphere.




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