The U.S. Air Force is targeting October 15 for the long-delayed launch of its next polar-orbiting weather satellite atop a refurbished Titan 2 missile.

Liftoff of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F16 spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was pushed back to give adequate time between this mission and the launch of a Titan 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, along with other factors.

"There were three major contributors to the move of the launch date from mid-September to October 15," Air Force program officials told Spaceflight Now.

"The launch date moved from mid-September as a result of the Titan 4 B-36 launch delay on the East Coast. Until we successfully launched and conducted a post-flight review of the common hardware between Titan 4B and Titan 2, we did not want to fuel the DMSP satellite. Typically, fueling of the DMSP satellite happens about 17-18 days before launch of the Titan 2.

"The launch date was further moved to allow several days for safety modifications to be made to ground propellant loading units, in response to prudent Lockheed Martin safety initiatives taken after the oxidizer pump motor failure at Cape Canaveral in August.

"Finally, the launch date moved slightly to allow the launch rehearsal to be conducted in early October with the new Western Range operations contractor."

The Titan 4 successfully launched from Florida on September 9 carrying a classified cargo for the National Reconnaissance Office.

"The hardware/facilities/procedures/software that are common between the Titan 4B and the Titan 2 have been reviewed sufficiently to proceed with Titan 2 launch. No anomalies or significant data items were uncovered -- other than the precautions taken following the propellant pump failure at Launch Complex 40," officials said.

In preparation for the Titan 4 mission, a nitrogen tetroxide spill occurred while the rocket was being fueled due to a faulty pump on the ground. That prompted a check of equipment at the Titan 2's Space Launch Complex 4-West pad at Vandenberg.

"The propellant system at SLC-4W was modified to incorporate lessons learned from the propellant pump failure at Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral. The Titan 2 fuel and oxidizer ground systems were modified with improved blast shields to protect the ground propellant storage tanks and propellant crews," officials said.

"Final checkout of the system is underway this week as part of the normally scheduled validation steps prior to the Titan 2 launch. The Titan Program is confident in the equipment, the procedures and the propellant crew."

Built by Lockheed Martin, the DMSP F16 satellite was a half-minute away from blastoff in January 2001. But a long series of problems have kept the mission grounded. Once in orbit, the spacecraft will provide weather data for military forces around the world.

Schedules called for the DMSP spacecraft to be loaded with its supply of hydrazine fuel on Saturday, September 27. It was delivered to the launch pad in mid-August.