Liquid Nitrogen Shortage Delays Landsat 9 Launch
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Liquid nitrogen shortage delays Landsat 9 launch - SpaceNews:
WASHINGTON - A one-week delay in the launch of the next Landsat satellite on an Atlas 5 is the result of a ripple effect in the supply chain caused by increased demand for liquid oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients.
NASA announced Aug. 27 that the launch of Landsat 9 on an Atlas 5 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California had slipped a week, from Sept. 16 to no earlier than Sept. 23, because "pandemic demands for medical liquid oxygen have impacted the delivery of the needed liquid nitrogen supply." Liquid nitrogen, or LN2, is used to create gaseous nitrogen needed to support launch site activities.
During an Aug. 31 virtual news briefing about the upcoming launch, Del Jenstrom, NASA Landsat 9 project manager, said the issue was not an overall lack of liquid nitrogen but instead a transportation issue.
"There's plenty of liquid nitrogen in the Los Angeles area. The problem is they need some trucks to bring it up to Vandenberg," he said. "Because of the pandemic, from what we understand, liquid oxygen deliveries have been paying much higher premiums than liquid nitrogen deliveries, and LN2 trucks have been converted to carry liquid oxygen."
[...] Airgas, the company that handles the nitrogen supply at Vandenberg, is bringing in "a dozen or so" liquid nitrogen tankers from the Gulf Coast temporarily to increase deliveries. "We're seeing a substantial increase of the number of LN2 deliveries to the base right now," he said, "and as far as we know, based on latest reports, we're on track to support our launch on Sept. 23."
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