Arianespace scrubbed Friday’s scheduled launch of its Ariane-5 rocket because of an unspecified telemetry circuit problem. The rocket carries Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD 7A telecom satellite and Spain’s military SPAINSAT.
The company said in a statement that Alcatel Alenia Space has satisfactorily completed a full verification of the telemetry signal system for the HOT BIRD. The satellite is now said to be in perfect health” and ready for launch.
Arianespace has resumed launch operations, including a series of on-ground verifications, and will announce a new target launch date soon probably – Monday or Tuesday.
Friday’s announcement marked the second time the launch of the heavy-lift Ariane-5 was postponed. The rocket originally was slated for takeoff last Tuesday.
The first launch of Ariane-5, in 2002, was aborted after the rocket veered off course. It self-destructed over the Atlantic Ocean off the northeastern coast of South America. Technicians isolated the initial problem and launched two Ariane-5 boosters last year.
