[Satellite Today – 1-17-08] The launch of GeoEye Inc.’s newest imagery satellite has been postponed until August by the launch provider, GeoEye said in a Jan. 12 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
    The launch of GeoEye-1 had been scheduled to take place during a 30-day launch window opeing April 16, but according to the filing, Boeing Launch Services Inc. and affiliate United Launch Alliance LLC notified GeoEye in a letter that the slot will be used for a U.S. government mission that had been delayed from February.
    There typically is a two-month lag between launches of Boeing’s Delta 2 rocket, and the June slot already is reserved for a research satellite developed by NASA, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,  France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the European Meteorological Satellite Organisation (Eumetsat)
    Boeing offered GeoEye a new launch period beginning Aug. 22, contending in its letter that the GeoEye satellite will not be ready for an April launch, but “GeoEye disputes that contention,” according to the filing. GeoEye expects the satellite to be shipped to Vandenberg by March 11, as planned, the company said.
    “Accordingly, Boeing would, if it so chose, have sufficient time for a launch in April as set forth in the launch services agreement,” GeoEye said. “GeoEye is exploring all possible remedies and alternatives.”