Feb 24, 2011

George H Diller Kennedy Space Center, Fla 321-867-2468 george h diller@nasa gov

Steve Cole Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0918 stephen e cole@nasa gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-056

NASA ASSESSING NEW LAUNCH DATES FOR THE GLORY MISSION

WASHINGTON -- Preparations for the launch of NASA's Glory mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California have been suspended temporarily Engineers continue to troubleshoot a malfunction in ground support equipment associated with the Taurus XL rocket

On Feb 23, a false indication was received about the rocket's status after commands were sent approximately 15 minutes before launch to activate the Taurus

"We had an indication that a 'hold-fire' command was sent when indeed it had not," said Omar Baez, NASA launch director

The commands originated from the Vehicle Interface Control Console in the mobile launch support van stationed a few miles from the launch pad The problem has not yet been isolated, and troubleshooting continues Managers are evaluating possible Glory launch opportunities in early to mid-March

"The Glory spacecraft is doing fine," reported Bryan Fafaul, Glory project manager from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md "We are continuing to slow charge the battery until we have a new launch date "

The Glory satellite will be launched aboard a Taurus on a mission to improve our understanding of how the sun and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols affect Earth's climate Glory launch management is provided by NASA's Launch Service Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida Orbital Sciences Corp is providing the Taurus XL launch vehicle and is responsible for spacecraft operations

For status updates on the Glory launch, visit:

http://www nasa gov/glory

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: ksc-subscribe@newsletters nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: ksc-unsubscribe@newsletters nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

https://aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/STS_ISS_STATUS/example/example com/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]