Fourth Delay for Mars Rover
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NASA’s second Mars rover will not be launched until Saturday at the earliest so engineers can assess a problem with cork insulation on the Boeing Delta II Heavy rocket that will carry the robot probe into space.
This marks the fourth delay for the rover, originally scheduled to launch last Wednesday.
About 10% of the cork had detached from the rocket and did not adhere well even after repairs, said George Diller, a spokesman for Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The cork protects the rocket from the high heat encountered during launch.
Once launched, the rover is expected to join its twin on the Martian surface in January 2004. The first rover was launched June 10.
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