The farewell flight of Europe’s workhorse Ariane 5 rocket, scheduled for Tuesday, has been postponed for twenty-four hours on account of dangerous climate, operator Arianespace stated.
The 117th and last flight of an Ariane 5 rocket, after 27 years of launches, had been on account of take off between 2130 and 2305 GMT from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
“Because of unfavorable winds at high altitude above the Guiana Area Centre, Arianespace determined to not begin the ultimate phase of the launch preparation operations,” the French agency stated.
The closest launch window was now between 2200 and 2305 GMT on Wednesday “if weather conditions are favorable”, it added.
The ultimate flight of an Ariane, whose launches have punctuated life in Kourou for almost three many years, was initially scheduled for June 16.
It was postponed the day earlier than due to issues with pyrotechnical traces within the rocket’s booster. The traces have since been changed.
The ultimate payload on an Ariane 5 is a French army communications satellite and a German communications satellite.
The arrival in 1996 of the Ariane 5, which was in a position to carry a far larger load than its predecessor Ariane 4, allowed Europe to ascertain itself within the communication satellite market.
It was due to get replaced by the Ariane 6 in 2020 however delays to that next-generation rocket have left Europe with no approach to independently launch heavy-load missions into space.
© 2023 AFP
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Unfavorable climate delays last Ariane 5 launch (2023, July 4)
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