Radar outage prompts delay of Falcon 9 launch [Spaceflight Now]
米空軍のロケット追跡用レーダー設備で火災が発生した影響でドラゴン宇宙船の打ち上げがまたしても延期となったようです。新たな打ち上げ日は未定。また既にロールアウトしていたアトラス5も当然おあずけを食った形に。The radar is part of the Air Force-run Eastern Range, a network of tracking, communications and safety assets stretching from Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.
Sources said Air Force officials are trying to repair the radar after a fire damaged it. The radar is located near Cape Canaveral, but an Air Force spokesperson did not respond to multiple inquiries on the nature of the problem and how long it would take to fix.
The radar outage already forced United Launch Alliance to delay the launch of an Atlas 5 rocket with a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload to no earlier than April 10. Liftoff of the Atlas 5, which was already rolled out to the launch pad, was scheduled for Tuesday.
Engineers will return the Atlas 5 rocket to its nearby integration building Thursday to wait for another launch attempt.
A new target launch date for SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was not available late Wednesday, but a company spokesperson confirmed Air Force would be unable to support a launch attempt Sunday night.
