Ariane 5 Launch Delayed For More Ground Systems Checks

Taasavaldanud Platon

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An Ariane 5 rocket on its launch pad Thursday night in Kourou, French Guiana. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/JM Guillon

Arianespace delayed the launch from French Guiana of a European Ariane 5 rocket with two geostationary communications satellites Friday to conduct more checks of ground support equipment at the spaceport.

The mission, set to loft payloads for SES and the French military, is the final Ariane 5 flight before a mission in December with the James Webb Space Telescope.

“Due to additional checks on the ground support equipment, the flight VA255 – initially scheduled for October 22 – has been scrubbed,” Arianespace said Friday in a statement. “Investigations are ongoing in order to identify a new launch date.”

The Ariane 5 rocket rolled to the ELA-3 launch zone Thursday at the Guiana Space Center after receiving its two payloads in the space center’s final assembly building.

Arianespace said the Ariane launcher and its payloads — SES 17 and Syracuse 4A — are in “stable and safe conditions on the launch pad.”

The launch window Friday was supposed to open at 9:01 p.m. EDT (10:01 p.m. French Guiana time), or 0101 GMT Saturday. The daily launch window is not expected to significantly change with the delay.

Thales Alenia Space'i ehitatud sidesatelliit SES 17 pakub Luksemburgi SES-i lennureisijatele Interneti-ühendust Ameerikas, Kariibi mere piirkonnas ja Atlandi ookeanil. Vastavalt Arianespace'i stardipressikomplektile kaalub täiskütusega satelliit 14,133 6,411 naela (XNUMX kilogrammi).

SES 17 is the largest satellite ever procured by SES, and the largest spacecraft ever built by Thales. It carries a digital payload controller capable of re-programming the satellites’s nearly 200 spot beams, adjusting power and frequency allocations to respond to changing customer needs.

8,492 naela (3,852 kilogrammi) kaaluv kosmoselaev Syracuse 4A, mille on samuti ehitanud Thales Alenia Space, hakkab pakkuma sideteenuseid Prantsuse sõjaväele. Satelliit edastab turvalist sidet Prantsuse sõjalennukite, maapealsete sõidukite ja mereväe laevade, sealhulgas allveelaevade vahel.

E-POST autor.

Jälgi Stephen Clarki Twitteris: @StephenClark1.