Ariane 5 rocket was set to launch Friday, but the French company, Arianespace, postponed it. According to reports, they encountered technical problems.
Ariane 5 Final Launch Postponed
Arianespace announced on Thursday that the last launch of Europe's Ariane 5 rocket had been delayed due to a technical issue. It is the latest setback for European space efforts.
The 117th and final Ariane 5 mission, after 27 years of flights, was planned to lift off on Friday between 21:26 and 0:01 GMT from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, Phys.org reported.
In a tweet, the company said, "There is a risk to the redundancy of a critical function on the Ariane 5." They decided to delay the roll-out of the anticipated #VA261 launch vehicle for safety measures.
After discovering a technical problem, they are working on analyzing the problem to determine the next launch date.
According to Arianespace, the rocket and its cargo of two communication satellites-one from France and one from Germany-are in a secure and stable location in the final assembly facility.
The delay comes as Russia withdraws its Soyuz rockets due to sanctions over its war in Ukraine. Europe struggles to find a way to independently launch heavy-load missions into space due to repeated delays for the next-generation Ariane 6.
When the maiden commercial launch of the new Vega C light rocket failed in December of last year, the European space program suffered yet another setback.
The European Space Agency had little choice except to depend on SpaceX's competitor status to launch its Euclid space observatory mission the following month.
It is still unknown if the Ariane 6-which was initially planned to launch in 2020-will be found on time. It is set to blast off later this year.
Un fait technique en production a mis en évidence un risque sur la redondance d’une fonction critique du lanceur Ariane 5. Conformément à ses exigences de fiabilité, Arianespace a décidé d’ajourner le transfert du lanceur #VA261 .
— Arianespace (@Arianespace) June 15, 2023
What Is Ariane 5?
Ariane 5 rocket is the mainstay of Europe's autonomous access to space. It is built on a technique where a sizable portion of the exploitation costs is paid through commercial activity, contributing to its dependability, accessibility, and affordability.
The rocket is launched six to seven times a year; of those launches, one or two are dedicated to institutional customers.
This approach has been incredibly effective for more than 30 years. The Ariane 1, 2, 3, and Ariane 4 family of first-generation rockets launched 50% of all commercial satellites in existence at the time.
This outstanding track record is maintained by Ariane 5, making it one of the world's most dependable launch vehicles.
The Ariane family underwent a significant evolution with Ariane 5. It employs more cutting-edge technology and is more powerful. Ariane 5G, Ariane 5G+, and Ariane 5GS, three succeeding generic variants, have all been decommissioned from service. Several missions, including the Automated Transfer Vehicle in low orbit and Galileo in medium orbit, utilized the Ariane 5 ES. It was taken out of operation on July 25, 2018.
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