NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Rain Delays Flight of Titan 3 Rocket

The maiden launching of a Titan 3 rocket carrying Japanese and British communications satellites was rained out, delaying the first flight of America’s most powerful commercial booster until at least next week. The $100-million rocket had been scheduled for liftoff at 7:15 p.m. from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, one day late because of a computer problem. The Titan 3, built by Martin Marietta Astronautics Group of Denver, is capable of boosting payloads weighing up to 32,500 pounds into low Earth orbit and 11,000 pounds into the higher “geotransfer” orbits required by communications satellites.