Kourou, Dec 21 (AFP\/APP):Flights of the new European Vega-C rocket have been suspended pending an investigation into an overnight launch failure, French firm Arianespace said Wednesday, leaving Europe with few avenues into space.<\/p>\n
Just minutes after the Vega-C rocket lifted off from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 10:47 pm local time on Tuesday (0147 GMT Wednesday), its trajectory deviated from its programmed route and communications were lost, Arianespace said.<\/p>\n
The order to destroy the launcher, which was carrying two satellites built by Airbus, was then given by French space agency CNES.<\/p>\n
“The launcher fell down” into international waters in the Atlantic Ocean, Arianespace’s chief technical officer Pierre-Yves Tissier told a press conference.<\/p>\n
If successful, it would have been the first commercial launch — and second overall — for the Vega-C since its inaugural flight on July 13.<\/p>\n
The rocket was launched over the Atlantic Ocean and had shot past 100 kilometres (62 miles) altitude and was more than 900 kilometres north of Kourou when the problem occurred.<\/p>\n
Tissier said the “failure seems limited to Zephiro 40”, the second stage of the launcher built for the Vega-C by Italian aerospace company Avio.<\/p>\n
Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said the company took full responsibility for the failure.<\/p>\n
The flight data was recovered and will now be analysed as part of an inquiry that will be co-led by the European Space Agency and Arianespace.<\/p>\n
The independent commission aims to determine “the cause of the failure and to propose robust and long-lasting corrective actions to guarantee a safe and reliable return to flight of Vega-C,” Arianespace chief executive Stephane Israel told the press conference.<\/p>\n
– Latest Europe space setback –<\/p>\n
The suspension leaves Europe with few options after numerous delays to the next-generation Ariane 6 rocket and cancelled Russian cooperation over the Ukraine war.<\/p>\n
Just two launchers remain of the previous-generation Ariane 5, with the only other option being Vega-C’s predecessor Vega.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, Europe has no way to launch satellites into orbit or heavy payloads into space until Ariane 6’s long-delayed inaugural flight planned for late 2023 — or when Vega-C flights resume.<\/p>\n
Israel said that “neither Ariane 5 or Ariane 6 are impacted by the failure that occurred”.<\/p>\n
The failure marks the latest setback for the European Space Agency (ESA), which is aiming to make Europe more competitive in the rapidly expanding satellite market.<\/p>\n
Elon Musk, the CEO of US rival rocketmaker SpaceX, tweeted that he was “sorry to hear” of the failure.<\/p>\n
“It is a sobering reminder of the difficulty of orbital space flight,” he added.<\/p>\n
The Vega-6 rocket had been trying to bring into orbit two Earth observation satellites built by European aerospace giant Airbus.<\/p>\n
They were planned to join the Pleiades Neo constellation, which is capable of capturing very high-resolution images of any point on the globe several times a day.<\/p>\n
The failure is a blow for Airbus, which developed the programme, whose services are sold to both companies and the military.<\/p>\n
Satellites that bring in commercial revenue are usually insured. An industry insider said that the lost Pleiades Neo 5 and 6 satellites were covered for 220 million euros ($233 million), potentially allowing Airbus to build them again.<\/p>\n
Airbus did not comment when contacted by AFP.<\/p>\n
– Third failure in nine launches –<\/p>\n
Tuesday’s launch was originally scheduled for November 24.
\nHowever it was postponed due to a faulty piece of equipment linked to the payload fairing, a type of nose cone, Arianespace’s CEO Israel told AFP, though the problem was not connected to Tuesday’s failure.<\/p>\n
Tuesday marked the third failure out of the last nine launches of Vega or Vega-C.<\/p>\n
It is also a blow to Avio, which has been involved in three of those failed launches. Avio’s share price plunged more than 9.5 percent on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
As well as the Ariane 6 delays, Europe’s space sector has been further weakened in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Moscow pulled its Soyuz rocket launchers and technical personnel from Kourou earlier this year in response to EU sanctions over the Ukraine invasion.<\/p>\n
In the absence of an alternative, ESA has been forced to turn to SpaceX to launch two scientific missions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kourou, Dec 21 (AFP\/APP):Flights of the new European Vega-C rocket have been suspended pending an investigation into an overnight launch failure, French firm Arianespace said Wednesday, leaving Europe with few avenues into space. Just minutes after the Vega-C rocket lifted off from Europe’s spaceport in […]<\/p>\n
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