Guiana Space Center – Page 2

Arianespace targets early 2021 for Vega return-to-flight

December 18, 2020 Stephen Clark

Presenting the results of an inquiry into a European Vega rocket failure last month, officials said Friday that misleading instructions and inadequate preflight checks caused teams to overlook wrongly-installed cables on the launcher’s upper stage steering system. Arianespace aims to resume Vega launches before the end of March.

Soyuz rocket launches Emirati military satellite after lengthy delay

December 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

After months of delays caused by launch vehicle issues and the coronavirus pandemic, a Russian Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage took off from South America and delivered the French-built Falcon Eye 2 military observation satellite to an on-target orbit Tuesday night for the United Arab Emirates.

Live coverage: Soyuz launches Falcon Eye 2 satellite on third attempt

November 30, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz rocket carrying a military spy satellite for the United Arab Emirates lifted off from French Guiana at 8:33 p.m. EST Tuesday (0133 GMT Wednesday). A launch attempt Sunday night was scrubbed due to the risk of lightning, and a countdown Monday was called off due to a telemetry issue associated with the range safety system at the Guiana Space Center.

Soyuz rocket ready to launch with UAE’s Falcon Eye 2 military satellite

November 29, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Soyuz booster is set for launch from French Guiana Sunday night with a European-built military reconnaissance satellite for the United Arab Emirates, the twin of a UAE surveillance craft lost in a rocket failure last year.

Arianespace traces cause of Vega launch failure to ‘human error’

November 17, 2020 Stephen Clark

Inverted cables on the Vega rocket’s upper stage control system apparently caused the launcher to tumble minutes after liftoff Monday night, a failure that resulted in the loss of a Spanish Earth observation satellite and a French research probe, Arianespace officials said Tuesday.

European Vega rocket suffers second failure in three launches

November 17, 2020 Stephen Clark

A European Vega rocket crashed back to Earth shortly after launching from French Guiana carrying a Spanish land imaging satellite and a French research probe with a combined value of nearly $400 million.

Live coverage: Arianespace probing “anomaly” shortly after Vega launch

November 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Vega rocket fired into space at 8:52 p.m. EST Monday (0152 GMT Tuesday) from the Guiana Space Center in South America, but the mission deviated from its planned trajectory. The rocket was boosting a Spanish Earth observation satellite and a French research payload into orbit.

Vega rocket poised for launch with satellites for Spain and France

November 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Spanish Earth observation spacecraft and a French research satellite to probe luminous phenomena above thunderstorms are packaged inside the nose cone of an Italian-built Vega rocket for launch Monday night from French Guiana.

JWST completes tests to simulate rigors of launch

October 7, 2020 Stephen Clark

The fully-assembled James Webb Space Telescope has completed testing in Southern California to verify the $10 billion mission can withstand the sound and shaking it will see during launch scheduled late next year on a European Ariane 5 rocket.

Vega rocket deploys 53 satellites on successful return to flight mission

September 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

Delayed a year by a launch failure, the coronavirus pandemic and a stretch of stiff upper level winds this summer, an Italian-made Vega rocket vaulted into orbit from French Guiana on Wednesday night and deployed 53 small satellites from 13 countries to punctuate a flawless return to flight mission.