NASA to delay launch because of damaged antenna

An upcoming satellite launch for NASA will be pushed back to an undetermined date, officials with the space agency have confirmed.

The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, known as TDRS-M, had been scheduled for an August launch. But one of the antennae on the 7,615-pound satellite was damaged at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville during encapsulation.

An additional issue with ground support is being assessed, as well.

TDRS-M will eventually launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

A 40-minute window for the launch of TDRS-M had been set to open at 9:02 a.m. Aug. 3. The indefinite delay was announced Friday by NASA officials.

“The mission team is developing a plan to assess flight acceptance and the schedule forward,” a statement read after the accident.

United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, had been tracking smoothly for its launch until the accident, reported July 15 and thought to have happened a day earlier.

The company has been steeped in competition with SpaceX for competitive launches this year.

The next scheduled launch from Florida is a SpaceX launch planned for Aug. 10. That launch will send cargo to the International Space Station.

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