VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, on behalf of the NASA Launch Services Program, is poised on the Space Launch Complex-2 launch pad here and ready for launch. The Delta II will carry the Missile Defense Agency's Space Tracking and Surveillance System Advanced Technology Risk Reduction payload into orbit. The launch is scheduled for 1:24 p.m. May 5. (Photo by Carleton Bailie, United Launch Alliance)

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Delta II launch scheduled

Published April 30, 2009
By Staff Report
30th Space Wing Public Affairs

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A Delta II rocket is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex-2 here, between 1:24 and 1:52 p.m. May 5.

The rocket will carry an experimental satellite into polar orbit to perform the Missile Defense Agency's Space Tracking and Surveillance System Advanced Technology Risk Reduction mission.

Col. Steven Winters, the 30th Space Wing vice commander, is the Western Range launch decision authority for this mission.

The purpose of the STSS ATRR mission is to enhance MDA's Ballistic Missile Defense System. It will serve as a space based component of a multi-layered system designed to detect, track and intercept ballistic missiles.

Launch preparation is on schedule, with the final launch rehearsal scheduled for May 1; this shake-down run will be the final opportunity to work out any lingering glitches, according to mission planners.

To perform this launch, 30th Space Wing personnel are working in conjunction with the United Launch Alliance, NASA and MDA.

For more information about the Delta II, contact Mike Rein from ULA at (321) 693-6250.

For more information about STSS ATRR, contact Rick Lehner from MDA at (703) 697-8997.