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02-Mar-99 | SIRTF and Radarsat updates

Two flights tentatively scheduled for 2001 may be going through some changes. SIRTF, a NASA infrared telescope, is now listed in the Boeing Launch Manifest as flying on a Delta III, making it the first NASA payload to use the new vehicle. Until now NASA has been using the designation 7920-H in SIRTF press releases, implying the use of higher-powered booster motors on a Delta II.

Also, the Canadian Space Agency’s Radarsat II might not fly on a Delta, and might not be launched from the United States at all. It turns out that the radar mapper’s ground resolution of 3 metres exceeds the clarity allowed by the U.S. government for non-military satellites by 2 metres. Unless Radarsat’s vision can be blurred somewhat, the CSA will likely have to find another launch provider.


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