NASA calls off launch of Mars probe for fourth time

WASHINGTON (AFP) Jul 05, 2003
The US space agency NASA on Saturday postponed for the fourth time the launch of a second rocket taking a robot probe to Mars to find signs of life.

A National Aeronautics and Space Administration statement gave no reason for the delay in the launch of the Opportunity rocket, scheduled to blast off at 10:51 pm Saturday (0251 GMT Sunday) from Florida's Cape Canaveral.

NASA said a new attempt would be made for a launch on Sunday night.

Previous launches were called off because of technical problems and strong winds over the Florida launch pad.

Spirit, the first of the twin probes in the NASA mission, took off on June 10 for its 500-million-kilometer (300-million-mile) journey to Mars.

SPACE.WIRE