KABOOM! Europe's heavy-lift rocket explodes on debut
Posted: 2002-12-12 10:50pm
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/021212/12/dglpb.html
Europe's heavy-lift rocket explodes on debut
By Will Knight
Europe's new heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket exploded three minutes into its maiden flight late on Wednesday, destroying two satellites and showering debris into the Atlantic Ocean.
In a fiercely competitive space launch market, the failure is a catastrophe for Arianespace. Three of the 14 Ariane 5 launches to date have now been total failures.
Early reports suggest that the rocket's newly modified Vulcain-2 main engine may have suffered a problem after take-off at 2221 GMT from the Kourou space port in French Guiana. The engine's performance decreased severely before the rocket veered off course. Once the rocket deviates from its trajectory, an on-board self-destruct system is programmed to detonate.
Modified Ariane 5 on the launch pad (Image: Arianespace)
Arianespace, the European company behind the rocket, has yet to release any information about the cause of the accident, but a press conference is expected on Thursday.
Speaking after the failed launch, Jean-Yves Le Gall, CEO of Arianespace, emphasised the high-risk nature of the space launch business. "Our job is difficult, as we have been reminded tonight in a most cruel way," he said. "Tonight's failure is very serious, but we have been through difficult times before and always overcome our difficulties."
Redesigned engine
The rocket's Vulcain-2 engine was redesigned for this launch, to produce 20 per cent more thrust. The additional lift increases the rocket's launch capacity from six to 10 tonnes, allowing it to carry two satellites into a high orbit more easily.
The extra thrust is produced by burning more fuel at higher pressure and it is possible that this system was involved in the failure. The new rocket also has a modified cryogenic upper stage, but Wednesday's accident occurred before this stage should have fired.
The launch was supposed to have taken place on 28 November, but the attempt was called off seconds before lift-off by an automated safety system. Two igniters that burn off any excess of the hydrogen used to cool the rocket's main cryogenic engine were replaced before Wednesday's launch attempt.
Poor history
The Ariane 5 rocket was carrying Hotbird TM7, a telecommunications satellites for the European consortium Eutelsat and an experimental satellite developed by the French space agency CNES, called Stentor.
It is a catastrophic blow for Arianespace, which faces increasing competition in a depressed satellite launch market. Competition comes mainly from US companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which have both successfully tested new increased capacity rockets in 2002. Russia also has a proven launch industry, and India and Japan are both seeking to develop launch industries.
The impact of Wednesday's failure is intensified by the relatively poor launch history of Ariane 5. Since its debut in 1999, the rocket has made 14 flights of which three were complete failures and one left a satellite in a useless orbit. Arianespace's plan to retire the less powerful but very reliable Ariane 4 rocket in 2003 now looks less likely.
The failure also casts serious doubt over a major European scientific mission scheduled to launch from French Guiana using an Ariane 5 rocket in January 2003. The Rosetta spacecraft must launch within a 20-day window in order to catch up with Comet Wirtanen, which it will attempt to land on.
Europe's heavy-lift rocket explodes on debut
By Will Knight
Europe's new heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket exploded three minutes into its maiden flight late on Wednesday, destroying two satellites and showering debris into the Atlantic Ocean.
In a fiercely competitive space launch market, the failure is a catastrophe for Arianespace. Three of the 14 Ariane 5 launches to date have now been total failures.
Early reports suggest that the rocket's newly modified Vulcain-2 main engine may have suffered a problem after take-off at 2221 GMT from the Kourou space port in French Guiana. The engine's performance decreased severely before the rocket veered off course. Once the rocket deviates from its trajectory, an on-board self-destruct system is programmed to detonate.
Modified Ariane 5 on the launch pad (Image: Arianespace)
Arianespace, the European company behind the rocket, has yet to release any information about the cause of the accident, but a press conference is expected on Thursday.
Speaking after the failed launch, Jean-Yves Le Gall, CEO of Arianespace, emphasised the high-risk nature of the space launch business. "Our job is difficult, as we have been reminded tonight in a most cruel way," he said. "Tonight's failure is very serious, but we have been through difficult times before and always overcome our difficulties."
Redesigned engine
The rocket's Vulcain-2 engine was redesigned for this launch, to produce 20 per cent more thrust. The additional lift increases the rocket's launch capacity from six to 10 tonnes, allowing it to carry two satellites into a high orbit more easily.
The extra thrust is produced by burning more fuel at higher pressure and it is possible that this system was involved in the failure. The new rocket also has a modified cryogenic upper stage, but Wednesday's accident occurred before this stage should have fired.
The launch was supposed to have taken place on 28 November, but the attempt was called off seconds before lift-off by an automated safety system. Two igniters that burn off any excess of the hydrogen used to cool the rocket's main cryogenic engine were replaced before Wednesday's launch attempt.
Poor history
The Ariane 5 rocket was carrying Hotbird TM7, a telecommunications satellites for the European consortium Eutelsat and an experimental satellite developed by the French space agency CNES, called Stentor.
It is a catastrophic blow for Arianespace, which faces increasing competition in a depressed satellite launch market. Competition comes mainly from US companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which have both successfully tested new increased capacity rockets in 2002. Russia also has a proven launch industry, and India and Japan are both seeking to develop launch industries.
The impact of Wednesday's failure is intensified by the relatively poor launch history of Ariane 5. Since its debut in 1999, the rocket has made 14 flights of which three were complete failures and one left a satellite in a useless orbit. Arianespace's plan to retire the less powerful but very reliable Ariane 4 rocket in 2003 now looks less likely.
The failure also casts serious doubt over a major European scientific mission scheduled to launch from French Guiana using an Ariane 5 rocket in January 2003. The Rosetta spacecraft must launch within a 20-day window in order to catch up with Comet Wirtanen, which it will attempt to land on.
Sucks for them...
LOL
