Washington DC – Nov. 10, 1997 – Delayed since the summer by everything from brush fires at the launch pad to lightning strikes, a classified military reconnaissance satellite rode the last Titan IVA heavy lift rocket aloft last night from Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida. Initial reports on the rocket's progress indicated that both the booster and the Centaur upper stage worked as planned. Liftoff came at 9:05pm EST after an half hour delay caused by electronic problems with the big rocket's destruct sequencer.
The Titan was originally planned for launch last June. But brush fires
around the pad caused weeks of delay, followed by technical troubles with
the rocket's steering equipment. More problems followed in the fairing
covering the spy satellite. Engineers had to clean the spacecraft, leading
to more delays. Then, the rocket was delayed from launch two weeks ago when
lightning struck near the launch pad in Florida, requiring new checks of
the circuitry on the complex. While technicians reviewed the booster, a
leak was discovered in one of the steering systems for one strap-on solid
motor. A change-out was ordered, causing the last set of delays. Weather
also had its hand in the months spent waiting on the pad.
The Titan IVA launched Friday evening was the last using less power solid
fuel motors. All future Titan launches will use the advanced Titan IVB
design, which began lifting selected payloads last January from Vandenberg
Air Base in California. A Titan IVB was also used in the launch of the
Cassini Saturn space probe.
