The rest of the $239 million story.........

[dixiebreeze]

A couple posters wondered if this satellite was to be used for weather:

(9/09/03 - SAN JOSE, CA) — A nearly completed, $239 million weather satellite toppled to the floor as it was being moved at a Lockheed Martin plant and was seriously damaged, officials said Tuesday.

The NOAA-N Prime was being moved from a vertical to a horizontal position when it fell 3 feet Saturday at the Sunnyvale facility.

The satellite was intended to go into polar orbit in 2008 and monitor the climate for up to four years. In addition to weather, vegetation and drought studies, it was to be used for receiving distress signals from mariners and hikers.

Officials said it was too early to determine how its schedule might be affected or whether any of its tasks will have to be changed.

According to a source close to the program, bolts that were supposed to secure the satellite to the "turn over cart" had been removed a day earlier by a crew working on another satellite project. The crew working on NOAA-N Prime did not notice the bolts were missing when they tried to flip the satellite, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Lockheed Martin spokesman Buddy Nelson said it appears that the cart "was not in the proper configuration for the planned activity."

"We're reviewing the paperwork and examining the hardware to determine the facts," he said.