TerraSAR-X, German aerospace centre DLR's synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite, will not be launched as planned this month because of the continuing return-to-flight process for the Kosmostras Dnepr rocket, which suffered a launch failure last July, writes Rob Coppinger.
The satellite was due for launch on 27 February and may fly in late March. The 1,000kg (2,200lb) spacecraft , with its 394kg SAR payload, is to spend five years in a 514km (319 miles)-high, 98°-inclination Sun-synchronous orbit.
"The Dnepr release [for return to flight] is expected for mid-February," says DLR TerraSAR-X manager Rolf Werninghaus. DLR has invested €102 million ($132 million) in the satellite, with prime contractor EADS Astrium Germany contributing a further €28 million.
The Dnepr accident, caused by an engine failure, has also delayed the Bigelow Aerospace Genesis II inflatable spacecraft.
After the loss of its Energia-developed Earth observation satellite Belka on the Dnepr, Belarus says it may build a replacement by mid-2009.
Source: Flight International