ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, November 5, 1996              TAG: 9611050083
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-3  EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: ATLANTIC
SOURCE: Associated Press

ROCKET LAUNCHED IN VA.

A rocket launched from an airplane off the Virginia coast soared to its proper orbit Monday, but the two scientific satellites it carried failed to release properly and may be useless.

Both Orbital Science Corporation, which owned the Pegasus XL rocket, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration appointed investigating boards.

One of the spacecraft, called the Scientific Applications Satellite, which goes by the acronym SAC-B, was designed to look at solar flares and gamma ray bursts. It was a cooperative project between NASA and Argentina's National Commission of Space Activities.

The SAC-B and another satellite called the High Energy Transient Experiment, remained attached to the rocket's third stage.

Engineers believe that four of its five scientific instruments may still be functioning.

The HETE was unable to deploy its power-producing solar panels.

LENGTH: Short :   30 lines