polynesia_satellite_000228 The launch of a U.S.-government research and development satellite has been postponed over French Polynesian concerns that a portion of the rocket used to ferry the probe into orbit could land on a populated island after liftoff.
The Department of Energy was to have launched the satellite early Monday, February 28, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California to test the governments ability to remotely monitor the production of nuclear and chemical weapons around the globe.
However, the French Polynesian government contacted the U.S. Air Force on Friday, citing concerns that the Taurus rockets second stage could come down on a populated island within the 10-square-mile (26-square-kilometer) targeted impact zone in the South Pacific Ocean. U.S. government intelligence had listed the island as uninhabited.
"Basically, its a political issue and until its resolved the launch is in limbo," said Air Force Master Sgt. Tyler Foster.
Vandenberg cannot launch the Multi-spectral Thermal Imager (MTI) before Saturday. However, that delay could stretch much longer.
"If the island is inhabited, well have to change the trajectory," Foster said.
Barron Beneski, a spokesman for rocket manufacturer Orbital Sciences, said the change would require the rocket to be de-stacked, a process that could take a month to complete.
Once in orbit, the 1,305-pound (587-kilogram) satellite is designed to peer down on Earth, using a telescope to "see" in 15 spectral bands -- ranging from visible to long-wave infrared.
Treaty monitoring and science
Once in orbit, the
satellite should test the ability to spot from space the telltale signs of weapons production, from cooling ponds alongside nuclear reactors to traces of dust associated with the processing of uranium ore.Confirmation that MTI can spy from space on sites that are readily identifiable from the ground could then lead to future satellites that could be pressed into the hunt for previously unknown or undisclosed weapons factories across the globe.
The satellite will also be able to map chemical spills, vegetation health and volcanic activity. More than 100 researchers drawn from 50 different defense and civilian agencies intend to work on MTI-gathered data.
Whatever the rescheduled date is, the launch will be carried live on
SPACE.com Taurus rocket.French Polynesia is a French overseas territory, made up of approximately 130 tropical islands, the largest and most populated of which is Tahiti.
Vincent Sabathier, the space attache in the French embassy in Washington, D.C., said he was unaware of the French Polynesian protest. However, he
stated that the odds of any wayward debris striking a populated area must be addressed.
"Who is willing to cover that risk or chance?" Sabathier said.
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