Titan 3 Rocket Launch Delayed for Week

Martin Marietta on Wednesday delayed the maiden commercial launch of its Titan 3 rocket for a week because of a forecast calling for several days of unfavorable weather, officials said.

It was the fifth postponement this month of the launch, which is to boost into orbit communications satellites for a Japanese company and the British Ministry of Defense. Three of the scrubs were caused by too-strong winds about 30,000 feet above the launch area.

Liftoff had been rescheduled for Wednesday night, but with rain falling throughout the day and with a forecast that the stiff upper-level winds would persist, the company decided to put off the effort until next Wednesday.

The delay will give workers time off for Christmas and allow temperatures to rise after the expected passage of a cold front. The Titan’s solid-fuel boosters use O-ring seals that must be above about 60 degrees for a launch to be permitted.

The goal of the long-awaited flight is the deployment of Skynet 4A, a British military communications satellite, and JCSat 2, a $150 million communications satellite owned by the Japan Communications Satellite Co. and Hughes Communications Inc.