The Nation - News from Feb. 5, 1988

The launch of a “Star Wars” research satellite carrying 15 simulated Soviet nuclear missiles was postponed because of a potential problem with the Delta rocket, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said. The launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida was not immediately rescheduled. Instruments indicated trouble with an oxygen vent on the Delta’s second stage with five minutes to go in the countdown, NASA said. The mission calls for the Delta’s second stage to go into orbit and release 15 payloads, simulating Soviet missiles. Once released, lasers, radar and other devices are to track the objects while they maneuver through space for 12 hours. The $250-million exercise is a major test of President Reagan’s proposed space-based missile defense system.