300th Boeing Delta Rocket Launches Last of NASA's Great Observatories
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 25, 2003 -- Boeing successfully launched NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility, or SIRTF, aboard a Delta II Heavy launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. in the early hours of the morning.
Liftoff occurred on schedule at an instantaneous launch window of 1:35:39 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 17B. Telemetry data indicated that the launch vehicle successfully deployed SIRTF to a solar orbit.
SIRTF is the last of NASA's Great Observatories program, which includes the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Chandra X-Ray and Compton Gamma Ray Observatories. SIRTF will enable researchers from around the world to learn more about the formation of the universe.
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Neg #: d300-3a-0103-568
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Contact Info:
Robert Villanueva
Boeing Expendable Launch Systems
office: (714) 372-2089
robert.s.villanueva@boeing.com
Boeing Expendable Launch Systems
office: (714) 372-2089
robert.s.villanueva@boeing.com