MESSENGER Launch Rescheduled

Personally I would rather they delay the launch a year and get a higher
power launch vehicle to deliver it sooner than currently planned. In the
old days NASA managed to get probes to the planets quickly, these days we
seem to always be doing half a dozen flyby's for cheap gravity assists
instead of just burning more fuel at the launch.

"rk" wrote in message
...
http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/news_roo..._03_24_04.html

MESSENGER Launch Rescheduled

The planned May launch of NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft - the first designed
to
orbit the planet Mercury *- has been rescheduled for no earlier than July
30.

The new launch period, a backup to the May plan, extends from July
30-August
13, 2004. Several factors led to NASA's decision to move the launch from
its
original date, including a desire to perform more testing of MESSENGER's
fault-protection system software. This allows the spacecraft to check its
own
health and, when necessary, switch between alternative backup systems.
This
will also create some additional time for the test team to complete final
assembly and checkout, affording a more comfortable spacecraft processing
schedule.

-end excerpt-

--
rk, Just an OldEngineer
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public
relations, for nature cannot be fooled."
-- R. Feynman, Appendix F.