May 16, 2005

Erica Hupp/Dolores Beasley 
Headquarters, Washington 
(Phone: 202/358-1237/1753)

George H. Diller 
NASA Resident Office
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
(Phone: 805/605-3051)

John Leslie
NOAA Satellites & Information Service
(Phone: 301/457-5005)

RELEASE: 05-119

NASA POSTPONES SATELLITE LAUNCH

NASA's launch of the NOAA-N polar-orbiting environmental satellite for 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been 
postponed. 

NOAA-N will launch no earlier than 6:22 a.m. EDT, Friday, May 20. The 
satellite has a 10-minute launch window. 

After the launch attempt last Thursday, a vent hose in the launch 
vehicle broke loose possibly causing contamination of the payload. 
Samples must be taken from NOAA-N to ensure any possible contaminants 
do not exceed allowable limits. Launch managers will review test 
results before announcing a definite launch date. 

	
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