Debris from USA 193, the failed satellite that was largely destroyed Feb. 20 by an SM-3 missile, posed enough of a risk that the National Reconnaissance Office delayed launch Feb. 29 of an Atlas 5 carrying the L-28 payload. The rocket, poised for launch from Vandenberg Air Force base, Calif., was postponed about two weeks "as a precautionary move to avoid possible debris from the NRO experimental satellite," according to a Feb. 29 statement on the Web site of the United Launch Alliance, which manages government launches of the Atlas and Delta launch vehicles.
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