Concern about the condition of DC-to-DC power converters on the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite has delayed the 15 March launch of the spacecraft aboard a Boeing Delta II from Vandenberg AFB, California.
Launch preparations for the $153 million Lockheed Martin-built satellite have been halted after an investigation into the failure of similar converters on a NASA satellite constructed last year and on a non-NASA spacecraft.
If the launch is cleared, it will not take place until at least 18 March. The satellite may have to be returned to Lockheed Martin to replace the converters, which would delay lift-off for at least three months.
The 500kg (1,000lb) craft will be launched into an elliptical 993 x 45,600km orbit, from where it will study the Earth's magnetosphere.
NASA, meanwhile, will launch the Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope in 2005 to explore energy sources in the universe.
Source: Flight International
