Tag: Ariane 5
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Ariane 5 rocket returns to launch pad for liftoff with commercial satellites
Ground crews transferred an Ariane 5 rocket back to its launch pad Thursday after resolving a technical concern associated with the vehicle’s main stage liquid hydrogen tank. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – J. Durrenberger Loaded with three commercial satellites, a European Ariane 5 rocket returned to its launch pad in French…
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Ariane 5 rocket returning to hangar for sensor swap
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated with new launch date of Aug. 14. An Ariane 5 rocket stands at the ELA-3 launch zone at the Guiana Space Center. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – J. Durrenberger Arianespace is returning an Ariane 5 rocket — loaded with three U.S.-built satellites — back to its final assembly building…
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Live coverage: Ariane 5 launch scrubbed by sensor problem
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the Galaxy 30 and BSAT-4b communications satellites, and Northrop Grumman’s second Mission Extension Vehicle for satellite servicing. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s live video webcast will begin approximately 15 minutes…
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Ariane 5 to test modified fairing for JWST, hardware for new range safety system
The payload shroud containing three commercial satellites on top of the Ariane 5 rocket for launch Friday includes modifications needed for the launch in late 2021 of the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon Engineers plan to test small modifications to a payload shroud on a…
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Mission Extension Vehicles Validate New Satellite Lifeline in Orbit
Until February 2020, when a satellite on orbit ran out of propellant, that was the end of its life. Most major communications and military satellites are designed with prolonged lifetimes and carry enough fuel for a 15 year mission. But the struggle for some satellite operators has been that at the end of that 15…
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NASA announces seven-month launch delay for JWST
The James Webb Space Telescope inside Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Redondo Beach, California, earlier this month. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn NASA officials said Thursday the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will be delayed seven months to Oct. 31, 2021, a schedule slip that takes into account work slowdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic…
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Three U.S.-built satellites in French Guiana for Ariane 5 launch
Northrop Grumman’s second Mission Extension Vehicle and Intelsat’s Galaxy 30 communications satellite were shipped from Dulles, Virginia, to French Guiana, in late June. Credit: Northrop Grumman The next flight of Europe’s heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket, set for July 28 from French Guiana, will carry a record payload of three multi-ton satellites toward geostationary orbit, including…
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NASA says JWST won’t be ready for launch in March 2021
Technicians inspect a critical part of the James Webb Space Telescope known as the Deployable Tower Assembly after fully extending it in the same maneuver it will perform in once in space. Credit: Northrop Grumman The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will not happen in March 2021 — the mission’s previously-scheduled launch date…
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Arianespace to resume launch preparations in French Guiana
Europe’s primary launch site is the Guiana Space Center, located in Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – L. Boyer Targeting a pair of satellite launches in June and July, ground teams will resume work at the Guiana Space Center in South America…
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Arianespace set the dates for its return to action
Arianespace has announced that the launch campaigns at the Guiana Space Center will resume soon. This comes after a month-long suspension of all launch campaigns that began on March 16th. Beginning May 11th, the launch campaigns for the VV16/SSMS and the VA253 will resume. The launch campaigns were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic on…