ARGOS ( satellite ) The Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite ( ARGOS ) was launched on 23 Feb 1999 from SLC - 2W , Vandenberg AFB , CA , atop a Boeing Delta II ( 7920 - 10 ) ( List of Delta II launches ) . Construction of the spacecraft bus and integration of the satellite ' s nine payloads was accomplished by Boeing at their Seal Beach , CA facility . The program was funded and led by the DoD ' s Space Test Program as mission P91 - 1 ( the first mission contract let in 1991 ) . The nine payloads were research and development missions by nine separate researchers . The $ 220M mission was operated by Air Force Space Command ' s Space and Missile Systems Center ' s Test and Evaluation Directorate ( now Space Test and Development Wing ) from their RDT & E Support Complex ( RSC ) at Kirtland AFB , NM . ARGOS was the first mission operated 100 % from the new state - of - the - art , commercial - off - the - shelf Kirtland facility ; all previous SMC satellite missions had been operated in total or at least in part from the preceding center at Onizuka AFS , CA . Mission . " " The ARGOS satellite will provide a tremendous payoff in critical technologies such as imaging , satellite propulsion and space - based computing . These areas will become important as more and more applications of space are developed , " " " said Colonel Tom Mead , program manager of the DoD Space Test Program . " The ARGOS had a design life of three years and was part of the DoD Space Test Program ( STP ) , which supports the Air Force , Army , Navy , BMDO ( now MDA ) , NASA , and various international space agencies . The nine ARGOS payloads , addressing more than 30 research objectives , conducted upper atmospheric observations and technology demonstrations . These included sensor technology for the International Space Station , as well as three high - priority ultraviolet imaging experiments and an X - ray sensor . The remaining experiments investigate ion propulsion , gas ionization physics , plume detection capabilities , and orbital debris . As part of DOD STP , ARGOS served the need to fly Department of Defense payloads that cannot be flown on the Space Shuttle or aboard small launch vehicles due to complexity , size , mission duration , or other constraints . The Naval Research Laboratory , U . S . Army Space and Strategic Defense Command , Air Force Research Laboratory , and Office of Naval Research have provided payloads for the ARGOS mission . Mission Termination : Per the Kirtland AFB mission control center , " As of 1500 Zulu on 31 July 2003 , support of all ARGOS operations has been terminated . Decaying inertial reference units has led to a tumble of the aircraft . As a result , communications with the spacecraft have been lost . " Payloads . " " ARGOS will be the largest and most sophisticated research and development satellite Boeing has ever orbited for the Air Force , " said Mr Will Hampton , Boeing director of U . S . Air Force Delta Programs . " Experiment ( DOD Selective Experiments Review Board Year - Rank / Sponsor ) : Bus characteristics . P91 - 1 ARGOS , Ørsted ( satellite ) and SUNSAT Mission Book " Eleventh Time ' s the Charm " . " After about six weeks stacked on the launch pad , and as long for mission crews to report only to replan activities for another night and slightly different time , the rocket and its satellites blasted away from Earth ' s pull . After ten previous attempts , there was much rejoicing on # 11 and our running joke made reference to the age - old saying , " third time ' s the charm . . . " D . Seitz , Operations Lead , RDT & E Support Complex " 14 Jan 1999 - postponed launch 24 hours to complete testing of the link between the spacecraft and the ground telemetry station . " The spacecraft team observed noise intrusion on the telemetry signal sent from the spacecraft to the ground station . The spacecraft team has corrected the problem and validation testing is underway . The 24 - hour delay allows the spacecraft team to finalize its testing prior to the launch vehicle upper stage fueling . " 20 Jan 1999 - launch postponed due to weather ( upper level winds ) 25 Jan 1999 - launch postponed due to weather ( upper level winds ) 27 Jan 1999 - launch postponed due to weather ( upper level winds ) 28 Jan 1999 - launch postponed — the Boeing launch team determined that a propellant valve on vernier engine number two failed to open on command . This caused the engine shutdown and initiation of the autosafe mechanism on the launch vehicle . During the engine start sequence , the two vernier engines are required to ignite prior to ignition of the main engine . The main engine and two vernier engines were automatically shut down at approximately T - 0 when it was detected that one of the vernier engines had failed to ignite . All vehicle safing systems performed as designed and expected . 07 Feb 1999 - launch postponed due to weather ( upper level winds ) 08 Feb 1999 - launch postponed due to weather ( upper level winds ) 12 Feb 1999 - launch postponed due to weather ( upper level winds ) 13 Feb 1999 - launch postponed due to an electrical problem in the first stage of the booster 22 Feb 1999 - launch postponed due to weather ( upper level winds ) 23 Feb 1999 - the rocket lifted off at 0229 PST from California ' s Vandenberg AFB .