Tag: Ariane 5
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Investigators say erroneous navigation input led Ariane 5 rocket off course
An Ariane 5 rocket lifts off from French Guiana on Jan. 25 with the SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellites. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon A bad input to the Ariane 5 rocket’s guidance system that was missed during pre-launch quality control checks caused the launcher to…
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NASA gears up for brisk launch pace, starting with weather satellite
The first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket set to launch NOAA’s GOES-S weather satellite was lifted atop its mobile launch platform Jan. 31 inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center tasked with overseeing launches of scientific satellites and interplanetary probes…
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Photos: European Ariane 5 rocket climbs into space from French Guiana
An Ariane 5 rocket soared into orbit from French Guiana on Jan. 25 with the commercial SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellite, but the launcher missed its mark and released the telecom craft into an unplanned orbit. Officials from SES and Yahsat, the companies which own the two payloads, said their satellites will…
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Video: Ariane 5 makes a smooth blastoff before mission runs into trouble
A 180-foot-tall (55-meter) Ariane 5 rocket climbed into space from French Guiana on Thursday evening, but the mission ran into problems a few minutes later. The launch was supposed to deliver the SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellites into a supersynchronous transfer orbit arcing as high as 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) above Earth.…
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Ariane 5 deploys two telecom satellites in orbit despite telemetry loss
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 1300 GMT (8 a.m. EST) Jan. 26 with SES statement. An Ariane 5 rocket lifts off Thursday from French Guiana. Credit: Arianespace KOUROU, French Guiana — A European Ariane 5 rocket took off from French Guiana and delivered two commercial communications satellites and a NASA scientific package to orbit Thursday after…
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Probe into off-target Ariane 5 launch begins, SES and Yahsat payloads healthy
An Ariane 5 rocket climbs away from Kourou, French Guiana, with the SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellites. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now KOUROU, French Guiana — Arianespace will convene an independent inquiry board chaired by a top European Space Agency official to investigate why an Ariane 5 rocket flew off course Thursday night…
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Video: Arianespace chief Stephane Israel announces launch anomaly
Arianespace chief executive Stephane Israel announced an anomaly occurred during Thursday’s flight of an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, shortly after the launcher’s second stage engine ignited. The Ariane 5 lifted off at 2220 GMT (5:20 p.m. EST; 7:20 p.m. French Guiana time), but the ground team lost contact with the rocket a…
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NASA science instrument ready to study critical space weather boundary zone
The Airbus-built SES 14 communications satellite and the GOLD payload are readied for attachment to its Ariane 5 rocket. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon A $66 million NASA-funded science sensor package bolted on to a commercial communications satellite is ready for a ride toward a 22,000-mile-high orbital perch Thursday…
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Live coverage: Ariane 5 lifts off from French Guiana
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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Build-up of Ariane 5 rocket complete for launch Thursday
The Airbus-built SES 14 communications satellite is readied for attachment to its Ariane 5 rocket. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon The first Ariane 5 rocket scheduled for launch in 2018 has been topped off with two communications satellites for SES and Yahsat, moving the European booster closer to liftoff…