SPACE.com -- Testing Mishap to Delay X-43A Flight At Least a Month

Mounted to a NASA B-52, a Pegasus booster is set to launch the X-43A. The June 2, 2001 flight ended in disaster.
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The X-43A, mounted on a Pegasus booster is carried aloft on a NASA B-52 on an April 28, 2001 shakeout flight.
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Speed bumps in the sky. Engineers will study the aerodynamic forces that whip about the X-43A during its high-speed run.

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	Testing Mishap to Delay X-43A Flight At Least a Month By Brian Berger Space News Staff Writer posted: 04:00 pm ET 17 February 2004

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WASHINGTON -- NASA has postponed the launch of its second X-43A hypersonic research vehicle at least a month to repair a booster that was damaged in a factory mishap. The launch, which had been scheduled for Feb. 21, now is not expected to occur until late March or early April.

NASA is building three identical hypersonic test vehicles under the X-43A program. The first of these was lost when its booster, a modified Pegasus rocket, veered out of control shortly after being released from the wing of a B-52 aircraft.

The latest incident happened Feb. 11 when the booster that will launch the second X-43A vehicle was damaged while being prepared for rudder testing at the facilities of its manufacturer, Orbital Sciences Corp. The mishap is still being investigated, but NASA said the boosters rudder actuator accidentally was pushed past its limits and will have to be replaced.

Even before the problem with the boosters rudder, NASA had been considering postponing the X-43A launch until late March in order to modify the boosters autopilot system based on recent test data.