An artist's concept of a Defense Support Program satellite in orbit. Photo: USAF

A $250 million spy satellite might have been damaged recently during routine processing at a Cape Canaveral launch pad, furthering a string of high-dollar failures and mishaps dogging the U.S. Air Force's space efforts.

The Defense Support Program-20 satellite -- a craft designed to spot missile launches -- was undergoing preparations for a planned January 30 launch atop a Titan 4B rocket, the most powerful unmanned booster in the U.S. fleet.

But the ultra-sensitive satellite could have been contaminated by oil that dripped from an overhead crane on December 22, officials said Wednesday.

At the time of the incident, the rocket's nose cone was being hoisted by the crane for installation over the satellite atop the Titan.

Officials wanted to place the 56-foot long shroud over the satellite to protect it against any rain that could leak into the launch pad clean room over the year-end holiday break.

But as the last part of the three-segment shroud was about to be attached to the rocket, workers discovered a few drops of oil on the sections already installed, said Lt. Colleen Lehne, a U.S. Air Force spokeswoman.

"Because they did not see it when the oil was dripping, they can not determine if it touched the spacecraft," Lehne said.

The uncertainty will force workers to inspect the satellite for damage from the oil beginning today and continuing through January 12. The craft remains mounted atop the rocket at the seaside Complex 40 launch pad.

"If (the satellite) is clean, the launch will probably be rescheduled for the first week of February," Lehne said.

It is unclear how long the mission would be postponed if damage is found.

The last DSP satellite undergoes testing at manufacturer TRW. The craft was lost in a launch failure. Photo: TRW

Also unknown is what impact grounding the satellite for repairs would have on the U.S. military.

The craft is slated to replenish a constellation of similar satellites in space that gives warning to military officials of missile launches around the globe.

Worsening matters is the loss of an identical DSP spacecraft that was placed into a useless orbit last April because of a rocket failure.

"They are not about to go blind, but they don't launch these things for the heck of it," said John Pike, the space policy chief for the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, D.C.

The health and status of the DSP craft currently in space is classified, but Pike says only three operating satellites are needed in space to each watch a designated region: Europe, Asia and the West.

Besides seeing missile launches on Earth, the TRW-built satellites can also detect space launches and nuclear detonations.

The 33-foot tall spacecraft work by spotting the heat from missile and booster plumes against the Earth's background using an infrared sensor.

There have been 19 DSP satellites launched since 1970. The 23rd and final is slated for liftoff in 2003.

Bad luck plagues U.S. Air Force at Cape
The incident comes on the heels of three consecutive Titan 4 mission failures and another pad incident that damaged a military satellite at Cape Canaveral Air Station in the last 17 months.

U.S. Air Force Titan 4A rocket explodes moments after launch from Cape Canaveral in August 1998. Photo: USAF

The trouble started in August 1998 when an older Titan 4A rocket suffered an electrical short in its guidance system, causing the vehicle to tip over and explode about 40 seconds after liftoff. A $750 million classified spy satellite was destroyed.

Lost on April 9 was a $250 million Defense Support Program satellite identical to the one slated for launch on this upcoming Titan 4B. The failure was caused when the two sections of the Inertial Upper Stage rocket booster did not separate apart, casting the satellite into a worthless orbit.

On April 30, a computer software error in the Centaur upper stage attached to a $1 billion Milstar communications satellite caused the booster to misfire and consume its precious rocket fuel too soon. That left the satellite stranded in a uselessly low orbit.

Both the IUS and Centaur boosters are designed to carry satellites from low-Earth orbit where the Titan delivers them to their operational positions 22,300 miles above the planet.

More recently, a $42 million U.S. Air Force Global Positioning System satellite was damaged by rain at a nearby launch pad during a severe thunderstorm last May. The craft is being disassembled for repairs.

The Pentagon did break the string of setbacks for the Titan 4B fleet on May 22 when one of the rockets successfully launched a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

When could the launch occur?

The payload fairing is shown installed and ready for launch during processing of the last DSP satellite in April. Photo: USAF

The U.S. Air Force says if the inspections this week reveal the DSP satellite was not damaged, the rocket's nose cone will be reinstalled on January 13 through the 19th.

The earliest the Titan could be cleared for launch is likely around February 8 due to congestion on the U.S. Air Force-operated Eastern Range.

The Range, which provides critical tracking, communications and safety services to all Cape Canaveral launches, needs 48 hours between flights to reconfigure computers and other vital systems.

Currently, the first week of February has two other launches scheduled at Cape Canaveral: Lockheed Martin's Atlas 2AS rocket on February 3 with the Spanish Hispasat 1C communications satellite and a Boeing Delta 2 with four Globalstar telephone relay craft on February 6.

The Titan delay did free up the Range for NASA, allowing shuttle Endeavour to be scheduled for launch on January 31. The shuttle and its six international astronauts will embark on an 11-day mission to map the Earth's surface with a sophisticated radar.