Launch Of European Comet Probe Postponed After Ariane Failure

LAUNCH PAD

going nowhere soon

Paris (AFP) Jan 14, 2003
A mission to send a billion-euro comet chasing space probe, the Rosetta, to the comet Wirtanen has been abandoned and a new target will be chosen, the European Space Agency (ESA) said Wednesday.

Five or six other possible comets will be studied before a new destination for the Rosetta is found, a decision likely not to be taken before year's end, the director of science at the ESA, David Southwood, told a press conference.

The launching of the Rosetta probe, initially set for January 11, was first postponed for several days, following last month's failure of an Ariane 5 rocket, before being indefinitely shelved.

An inquiry has suggested that a faulty cooling system caused the Ariane 5 ECA -- a new heavier version of the standard Ariane 5 -- to malfunction minutes into its maiden voyage.

Rosetta was due to be launched on a standard Ariane 5, but officials remain concerned that that rocket might suffer from the same defect that forced mission controllers to abort last month's Ariane 5 ECA launch.

Rosetta was designed to loop around Mars and twice around the Earth, using the two planets' gravitational pull like a slingshot to propel it to a spectacular rendezvous with the comet Wirtanen in 2011.

earlier related report
ESA Statement
Paris - Jan 14, 2003
Having considered the conclusions of the Review Board set up to advise on the launch of Rosetta, Arianespace and the European Space Agency have decided on a postponement.

The Review Board called for Arianespace and all its partners to make sure, in the framework of a programme for the resumption of Ariane 5 flights, that all Ariane 5 system qualification and review processes have been checked.

Arianespace and the European Space Agency, together with all interested parties, are now going to consult each other in order to determine arrangements for the soonest possible launch of Rosetta.

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ROCKET SCIENCE

Arianespace Releases Initial Data On Flight 157

Paris (ESA) Dec 17, 2002
During a press conference today in Kourou, French Guiana, Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall provided initial information on the failure of Flight 157. He also announced the establishment of an independent inquiry board.

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