Satellite Problems Spur Cancellation of Shuttle Launch
Next week’s planned launch of the space shuttle Challenger, with Sen. Jake Garn (R-Utah) aboard, has been canceled because of problems with two $100-million satellites, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced Friday night.
The agency said that it will combine features of the flight, which had been scheduled for Thursday, with those of another mission that had been planned for March 22. NASA said that it will select a launch date for the combined flight next week.
The problems involve a tracking and data relay satellite in space and another in the Challenger’s cargo bay. NASA believes that there is a problem with devices aboard the satellites that encode secret signals being relayed between ground stations and military shuttle flights.
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