Space Programs England

Engineers at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center made final preparations for the twice-delayed maiden launch of a Titan 3 rocket tonight, the most powerful commercially developed booster built by an American company. The launch will mark the entry of Martin Marietta into the business of commercial launches. The 155-foot booster is scheduled to lift off at 7:20 p.m.

A Titan 3 rocket carrying British and Japanese communications satellites roared into space Sunday night after nine postponements as Martin Marietta Corp. entered the commercial launch business. The 155-foot-tall booster blasted away from its launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:07 p.m. and gave thousands of spectators a dazzling New Year's Eve show, brilliantly lighting the night sky as it climbed toward orbit.

The maiden flight of a Titan 3 rocket carrying two foreign satellites was postponed Saturday for 24 hours because of dangerous winds aloft, the ninth delay in a row for the commercial booster. The towering $100-million Titan 3 was scheduled to take off on the program's first flight from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, 23 days behind schedule because of a computer glitch and repeated high winds.

The maiden flight of a Titan 3 rocket carrying two foreign satellites was postponed Saturday for 24 hours because of dangerous winds aloft, the ninth delay in a row for the commercial booster. The towering $100-million Titan 3 was scheduled to take off on the program's first flight from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, 23 days behind schedule because of a computer glitch and repeated high winds.

A British communications satellite is to be launched Sunday on the first commercial American space rocket, the rocket's manufacturer said Friday. The satellite, Marcopolo 1, is to be sent into space by a three-stage Delta booster.

The first U.S. commercial satellite rocket was launched Sunday, propelling a $150-million British communications payload into orbit. The three-stage Delta booster, built by McDonnell Douglas Corp., left a fiery trail in a clear sky as it sped out over the Atlantic Ocean with the 2,700-pound Marcopolo 1 satellite packed in its nose cone.

A Titan 3 rocket carrying British and Japanese communications satellites roared into space Sunday night after nine postponements as Martin Marietta Corp. entered the commercial launch business. The 155-foot-tall booster blasted away from its launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:07 p.m. and gave thousands of spectators a dazzling New Year's Eve show, brilliantly lighting the night sky as it climbed toward orbit.

Engineers at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center made final preparations for the twice-delayed maiden launch of a Titan 3 rocket tonight, the most powerful commercially developed booster built by an American company. The launch will mark the entry of Martin Marietta into the business of commercial launches. The 155-foot booster is scheduled to lift off at 7:20 p.m.

The first U.S. commercial satellite rocket was launched Sunday, propelling a $150-million British communications payload into orbit. The three-stage Delta booster, built by McDonnell Douglas Corp., left a fiery trail in a clear sky as it sped out over the Atlantic Ocean with the 2,700-pound Marcopolo 1 satellite packed in its nose cone.

A British communications satellite is to be launched Sunday on the first commercial American space rocket, the rocket's manufacturer said Friday. The satellite, Marcopolo 1, is to be sent into space by a three-stage Delta booster.