Source:
www.spaceflightnow.com
SUNDAY, JUNE 29, 2003
2245 GMT (6:45 p.m. EDT)
The 300 million mile voyage from Earth to Mars for NASA's Opportunity rover won't begin until at least Wednesday night so workers can fix a ring of insulating material on the Boeing Delta 2 rocket.
For the second time in eight days, officials have been forced to postpone the Mars Exploration Rover-B launch to make repairs on the troublesome band of cork on the rocket's first stage.
Last week the band was removed and replaced after technicians discovered that the cork and the adhesive weren't bonding properly, NASA said. Inspections made early Sunday -- after super-cold liquid oxygen was drained from the first stage following the scrubbed countdown -- revealed sections of the new band wasn't adhering to the rocket's skin, the space agency announced.
Problem areas of the ring -- about 10 percent of the entire band -- will have to be reinstalled before the Wednesday night launch attempt, NASA said.
The cork material is used to provide thermal protection on the rocket. The insulator shields against the heating of ascent.
Located near the forward attach points of the strap-on solid rocket boosters, the band extends all the way around the first stage. It is about two-feet in width and a quarter-inch thick, according to NASA.
The two available launch times on Wednesday night are: 11:17:37 p.m. and 11:59:54 p.m. EDT.
The Opportunity rover's window to make its departure for Mars extends to July 15.
Launch postponed until July 2
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