The European launcher Ariane 5 has been launched into space for the last time. It successfully lifted off from the spaceport at Kourou in French Guiana on Wednesday evening. The start had previously been postponed twice. On its 117th and final mission, the launch vehicle is to launch the German communications satellite Heinrich Hertz and a French military satellite.
The start was originally supposed to take place in mid-June, but was postponed due to technical problems. Due to bad weather, the planned start for Tuesday evening was again postponed by 24 hours to Wednesday evening.
James-Webb-Teleskop brought in All
In recent years, the rocket from the European aerospace company Arianespace has been a reliable space transporter, carrying NASA’s James Webb telescope, among other things, into space. The successor model Ariane 6 will be operational at the end of this year at the earliest.
No unqualified success
The launch of Ariane 5 does not mean an unqualified success for the European space industry: Europe does not currently have its own resources to launch large satellites into space. The situation for Esa is unfortunate because there are currently problems with the launcher for lighter satellites. The newly inaugurated Vega C had a false start on its first commercial flight in December and is now grounded.
“From the middle of this year, we will not have guaranteed Europe’s access to space with European launchers and that is a huge problem for all of us,” ESA Chief Josef Aschbacher described the situation. It is not yet clear when Esa wants to use the Vega C again. It is expected to start again later this year.
Source: Krone
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