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Probe into off-target Ariane 5 launch begins, SES and Yahsat payloads healthy
Arianespace will convene an independent inquiry board chaired by a top European Space Agency official to investigate why an Ariane 5 rocket flew off course Thursday night after liftoff from French Guiana with the SES 14 and Al Yah 3 telecom satellites, but both payloads will be salvaged to accomplish their planned missions, officials said Friday.
Ariane 5 deploys two telecom satellites in orbit despite telemetry loss
A European Ariane 5 rocket took off from French Guiana and delivered two commercial communications satellites and a NASA scientific package to orbit Thursday after an unexpected radio blackout raised worries that the mission failed. But questions lingered early Friday about the accuracy of the payload deployments.
Video: Ariane 5 makes a smooth blastoff before mission runs into trouble
A 180-foot-tall Ariane 5 rocket climbed into space from French Guiana on Thursday evening, but the mission ran into problems a few minutes later.
Video: Arianespace chief Stephane Israel announces launch anomaly
Arianespace chief executive Stephane Israel announced an anomaly occurred during Thursday's flight of an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, shortly after the launcher's second stage engine ignited.
NASA science instrument ready to study critical space weather boundary zone
A $66 million NASA-funded science sensor package bolted on to a commercial communications satellite is ready for a ride toward a 22,000-mile-high orbital perch Thursday on a European Ariane 5 rocket, commencing a two-year mission surveying a rarely-studied region of Earth's upper atmosphere.
Live coverage: Ariane 5 lifts off from French Guiana
A European Ariane 5 rocket delivered two commercial communications satellites to orbit Thursday after Arianespace's ground team lost telemetry from the launcher during its climb into orbit, raising concerns that the mission might have failed. The SES 14 and Al Yah 3 satellites are confirmed in orbit and healthy, but the parameters of their orbits are unknown. Both were heading toward 22,000-mile-high geostationary perches over the equator.
Build-up of Ariane 5 rocket complete for launch Thursday
The first Ariane 5 rocket scheduled for launch in 2018 has been topped off with two communications satellites for SES and Yahsat, moving the European booster closer to liftoff Thursday from a tropical launch pad in French Guiana with payloads to serve commercial and scientific missions.
Photos: European rocket launched from South America
An Ariane 5 rocket launch Tuesday added four more navigation satellites to Europe's Galileo network with an on-target deployment following liftoff from a jungle spaceport on the northeastern coast of South America.
Four more Galileo navigation satellites ride Ariane 5 rocket into orbit
Unimpeded by rain showers and a dark gray blanket of low clouds, an Ariane 5 rocket thundered away from a European-run space base in the jungle of French Guiana Tuesday to place four Galileo navigation satellites in orbit, an on-target deployment that should improve the location accuracy of new smartphones around the world.
Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off with Galileo satellite quartet
Four European navigation satellites fastened on top of an Ariane 5 rocket lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 1836:07 GMT (1:36:07 p.m. EST) Tuesday to propel the Galileo navigation network closer to global service. The Ariane 5's upper stage delivered the spacecraft to a circular orbit more than 14,000 miles above Earth around four hours after launch.