CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Therewill be some scientific gain from next week's planned launch of a Delta3 rocket from the Cape, Boeing officials announced Tuesday, but the missionstill will mean at least an $85 million financial loss for the company.
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Two views of the newstripes and reflective surfaces added to the dummy satellite Boeing plansto launch on a Delta 3 rocket.

After two failed attemptsin 1998 and 1999 Boeing's new Delta 3 has yet to deliver a payload intoorbit.

So, next week, the companyplans to launch a Delta 3 on a demonstration mission to show the rocket'stroubles are fixed and is ready to fly its customers' satellites, as wellas sign up new clients.

Flying atop the rocket willbe a 9,500-pound (4,309-kilogram) hunk of metal that will simulate theweight and balance of a standard communications satellite.

Originally painted white,the device now sports black stripes and reflective surfaces that will beused as part of a ground-based experiment by the Air Force and the Universityof Colorado to observe satellites in orbit.

Scientists hope to view thesatellite under different conditions in order to calibrate their instruments.At the same time, by observing this target, researchers hope to add totheir knowledge about how satellites in orbit behave over time.

Boeing will not receive anycompensation for the use of the satellite as a scientific target, saidcompany spokesman Walt Rice.