THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 23, 1995 TAG: 9509260426
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: WALLOPS ISLAND LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
Bad valves and a loose nut in the rocket's steering mechanism kept the commercial rocket Conestoga from being launched on Aug. 13.
On Friday, Jim Hengle a spokesman for the rocket's manufacturer, EER Systems Inc., said the 55-footer may lift off on Oct. 19.
When it finally gets off the ground, the Conestoga will be the largest rocket to launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore. And it will be the first commercial rocket to use Wallops.
Virginia's aerospace industry, anxious to get its products and projects into space, hope it will be the first of many. EER Systems, Inc. is located in Northern Virginia.
Five attempts to launch the Conestoga were scotched by winds and equipment failure. The last was particularly dramatic. Hundreds had gathered along Accomack County's seaside to watch the lift-off. The Coast Guard had cleared boat traffic from Chincoteague Inlet and miles of the Atlantic as a safety precaution. Everything was set.
Then, with little more than a minute left of the countdown, the launch was aborted. by CNB