DigitalGlobe Inc said the launch of its newest satellite has been delayed as the rocket that is set to carry it to orbit has had a delay with an earlier launch, sending its shares down about 5 percent.

Sara Poulton, a company spokesperson, said the satellite launch was delayed by number of days, not number of weeks.

DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 was set to be launched by the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base on Oct. 6.

However, on Wednesday, the launch of two Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) demo satellites by Delta II for the United States Missile Defense Agency was delayed due to unfavorable weather conditions.

The launch of the STSS satellites, built by Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, was immediately preceding that of DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2.

The satellite imagery company said WorldView-2 is currently subject to a day-to-day rescheduling until the preceding launch is completed.

The spokesperson said the company does not have confirmation of the launch date right now, but that it was monitoring the situation realtime.

DigitalGlobe said it does not believe that any delays will be significant at this point.

Jefferies & Co analyst Howard Rubel said the delay does not have an impact on the company's results.

It has nothing to do with DigitalGlobe, it has do with another launch in the queue, Rubel said.

He said WorldView-2 could be launched within a week of the original launch date.

Dougherty & Co analyst Jeff Evanson said delays were pretty common in the industry and the satellite could be launched in 'days to weeks.'

WorldView-2 is DigitalGlobe's third satellite and is set to double the company's collection capacity and boost market share.

DigitalGlobe, which went public earlier this year, and GeoEye are the two commercial satellite operators that provide imagery to the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Shares of the company were down 61 cents at $21.52 Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange. They earlier touched a low of $21.11.

(Editing by Maju Samuel)

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