Sep 9 2003
From The Space Library
NASA selected Team Encounter LLC as the first private company contracted to manage a commercial mission carrying one of NASA's space science technology experiments into space. Valued at approximately US$6.5 million, the contract required the commercial company to mount NASA's hardware on Team Encounter's spacecraft and to integrate and test the system before the launch, scheduled to take place in 2004 or 2005. As the demonstration experiment for the mission, NASA selected a solar-sail technology known as the Inertial Stellar Compass (ISC) Technology Experiment. After the launch, Team Encounter would provide to NASA about 30 days of data from the ISC experiment. Charles Gay, NASA Program Executive for the New Millennium Program, remarked that the award was an opportunity for NASA to work with commercial industry in a mutually beneficial venture providing NASA with an effective way of validating its technology experiments in space at a reasonable cost. (NASA, “NASA Selects Commercial Space Ride for Technology Experiment,” contract release c-03-cc, 4 September 2003, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2003/sep/HQ_c03cc_space_ride.html (accessed 28 January 2009).
The U.S. Air Force launched a Titan 4B rocket with a Centaur upper stage carrying USA 171, an Orion classified satellite serving the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The Air Force provided no comment on the payload's destination or its whereabouts following the separation of the second stage of the Centaur. The Air Force had delayed the launch of USA 171 since April 2002 because of a series of technical problems and issues with the payload. The launch was likely the last of the Titan-Centaur launches, with only three Lockheed Martin-built Titan 4 rockets and one Titan 2 remaining to launch. The Air Force had contracted with Boeing and Lockheed Martin to replace the Titan 4 family with the Boeing Delta 2 and the Lockheed Martin Atlas 5, to provide the Air Force with cheaper, more reliable access to space for military payloads. (Spacewarn Bulletin, no. 599, 1 October 2003, http://nssdc.GSFC.nasa.gov/spacewarn/spx599.html (accessed 3 February 2009); Associated Press, “Air Force Launches Titan 4B Rocket Carrying Secret Military Payload,” 9 September 2003; Chris Kridler, “Titan Carries Spy Satellite into Orbit,” Florida Today (Brevard, FL), 9 September 2003.
NASA announced that NOAA, Lockheed Martin, and NASA had formed teams to investigate the 6 September accident involving the NOAA-N Prime satellite. While moving the spacecraft from a vertical to a horizontal position, Lockheed Martin workers had dropped it, significantly damaging the craft. NASA and Lockheed Martin had placed the satellite under guard, securing all records. NASA and NOAA were waiting for an assessment of the damage to determine how the accident would affect satellite programs. (NASA, “NASA, NOAA and Lockheed Martin Investigate Satellite Accident,” news release 03-287, 9 September 2003, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2003/sep/HQ_03287_satellite_accident.html (accessed 28 January 2009).
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