Ariane 5 on Indefinite Hold

The final flight of the European Space Agency's Heavy Lift Ariane 5 was to be Friday, June 16th.  Most of you will read this on Friday.  It has been postponed while an issue is being investigated that surfaced in the final stages of preparation.

"It has come to light that there is a risk to the redundancy of a critical function on the Ariane 5. Consistent with safety requirements, Arianespace has decided to postpone the rollout of the #VA261 launch vehicle. Analyses are underway to determine a new launch date," Arianespace, the France-based company that operates the Ariane 5, said via Twitter today (June 15). (VA261 is the name Arianespace gave to this mission.)

To most readers, I'm going to hazard a guess that the best known Ariane 5 mission was launching the James Webb Space Telescope on Christmas morning, 2021.  Another Ariane 5 launched the ESA's Juice mission just a couple of months ago in April.  

In a short briefing this afternoon, Arianespace representatives said the concerns centered on three pyrotechnical transmission lines that are associated with the Ariane 5's solid rocket boosters. Engineers will examine the issue before Arianespace announces a new target date, a milestone that's expected in late June.

The mission is carrying two satellites: The Heinrich-Hertz-Satellit is a German spacecraft designed to research and test new communications technologies and scenarios, while the Syracuse 4B is also a communications satellite, but one that will be operated by the French military.  The latter is said to be "totally protected against the most extreme jamming methods" to enable deployed French units to stay connected at all times.  

The Ariane 5 was first launched in 1996, and has completed over 100 launches.  Its successor the Ariane 6, is expected to debut before the end of this year.  

The Ariane 5 and Juice payload integrated and ready to roll out to the launch pad, last April 8th.  ESA photo.