United Launch Alliance has delayed the launch of a Delta IV rocket carrying the ninth Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite due to a problem with a first-stage booster, the company announced Saturday. The WGS-9 launch had been scheduled for this week, but when a routine pre-launch inspection uncovered the booster issue, ULA delayed the launch to “no earlier than March 14.” ULA launched the previous satellite in the WGS constellation aboard a Delta IV rocket on Dec. 7, 2016.
The U.S. conducted limited airstrikes against Iran on Nov. 2, the latest in a series of attacks the U.S. military has undertaken in the past few weeks but not publicly disclosed. The strikes occurred just ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.