The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory

NASA DELAYS SWIFT LAUNCH

Don Savage
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1727)

Bruce Buckingham
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 321/867-2468)

Nov. 18, 2004

MEDIA ADVISORY: M04-188

NASA has set the launch of the Swift spacecraft for no earlier than Saturday. The one-hour launch window opens at 12:10 p.m. EST.

Mission managers are meeting this afternoon to confirm the work necessary for a Saturday launch attempt is on schedule and no additional issues have arisen. Overnight, workers determined the Range Command-Receiver Decoder equipment on the launch vehicle is the likely reason for the voltage variance seen earlier in the week. Workers will gain access to the equipment today and replace the necessary parts. The system will be retested on Friday.

For information about Swift, NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: