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Science 16 October 1998:
Vol. 282. no. 5388, p. 389
DOI: 10.1126/science.282.5388.389c
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ScienceScope

In a move that could scramble space shuttle schedules, NASA has again delayed the launch of its $2 billion x-ray observatory. Last week, space agency officials announced that flight software troubles will prevent manufacturer TRW Inc. from shipping the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility from its California plant to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in time for a planned launch aboard the shuttle next January. That launch date was set following a 5-month delay announced last January (Science, 16 January, p. 318).

NASA officials say that this time, they don't know when the troubled satellite will finally fly. While TRW tries to exterminate software bugs, NASA Chief Engineer Dan Mulville will lead a top-to-bottom review of the program aimed at producing a realistic schedule. But the report isn't due until January, and some scientists worry that reshuffling launch plans will delay missions critical to assembling the international space station and maintaining the Hubble Space Telescope.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)