ASTRO-E2 News #005: Launch Delay Announcement

[Michael Arida <arida@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov>]

==============
We are forwarding the following announcement by Profs. Inoue and
Kunieda, which has been posted on the Astro-E2 web sites at ISAS/JAXA
and at NASA/GSFC on November 18th, to ensure the widest possible
distribution within the interested community.

---------------------------------------------------------------
It is quite unfortunate but we have to announce that Astro-E2
launch scheduled in February 2005 will be delayed.

It is not due to any problems in Astro-E2 or its launcher M-V-6,
but due to the solid rocket booster (SRB) problem which caused the failure
of the H-IIA-6 launch last year.  Under a situation that the solid
rocket team of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the industry
partners have to share the tasks between the resumption of the SRB and
the preparation of the M-V-6 launch, JAXA has decided to concentrate the
whole resources to take necessary steps to launch an improved H-IIA
rocket in this winter with enough confidence.  JAXA will make
the best efforts to launch Astro-E2 as early as possible in the next
Japanese fiscal year. The integration test currently going on will be
completed by December 2004 as has been scheduled and the satellite will
be held at that stage until the new start of flight operation.

The guest observer program (AO-1) planned to be started from
September 2005 will have to be also delayed.

Project Manager	Hajime Inoue
Project Scientist Hideyo Kunieda

----- End forwarded message -----
--
A service of the U.S. Astro-E2 Guest Observer Facility, NASA/GSFC.

Please do not reply to this message.
Questions or comments should go to:
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/Feedback