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The launch of Atlas Centaur 121 and the SOHO spacecraft was scrubbed just prior to tower rollback at approximately 03:45 UT 23 November due to a malfunction of an Atlas booster precision regulator, which will require removal, replacement and failure analysis of the probable cause. The regulator provides reference pressure to control booster engine thrust. No decision on rescheduling has been made at this time.
The Sun, our nearest star, will be studied in unprecedented detail when the European Space Agency's SOHO spacecraft is launched by NASA later this year. The name SOHO is an acronym for the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory. SOHO was also a medieval Anglo-French hunting cry; but this time the hunt is for answers to basic questions about the sun.