TacSat-3 Delayed to Better Protect Hyperspectral Sensor

摘要

The U.S. Air Force has delayed a planned June launch of a small satellite from Wallops Island, Va., until mid-September while it works to better protect the experimental spacecraft's hyperspectral sensor during the ride into space, according to the service official overseeing the effort. The Air Force awarded the contract for the TacSat-3 payload to Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems of El Segundo, Calif., in May 2005 prior to its selection of a launch vehicle for the spacecraft, according to Thom Davis, program manager for TacSat-3 at the Air Force Research Laboratory's space vehicles directorate, located at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.