AFP - Friday, November 9, 8:24 p.m.
KOUROU (AFP) - The launch of an Ariane 5 rocket carrying two satellites scheduled for Friday has been postponed at least until Monday evening due to a technical problem, announced in Kourou (French Guiana), the CEO of Arianespace, Jean-Yves Le Gall.
"We have a technical problem on one of EAP (stage accelerator powder), whose" one of power boxes gave this morning for signs of malfunction, "said Mr Le Gall to invited guests for the launch and the press.
The launch was originally scheduled between 7:04 p.m. to 7:59 p.m. (11:04 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. Paris time).
"We tried to understand what happened but we did not succeed. We just decided not to launch tonight, "said Le Gall.
The pitcher must be returned with the satellites in final assembly building, or faulty electrical equipment will be removed for analysis and replaced .
CEO of Arianespace said that it is a "systematic policy" of his company to move the equipment "when difficulties may arise." He stressed the importance of "understand what happened."
The European launcher Ariane 5, which has managed twenty consecutive launches since 2002, has put into orbit two telecommunications satellites for the British Ministry of Defense and the Brazilian operator Star One.
The Skynet 5B satellite built by Astrium, a subsidiary of European aerospace and defense group EADS, will provide secure telecommunications British armies, Nato and the countries already using previous Skynet satellites.
The Skynet 5, which represents a complete upgrade of telecommunications equipment for British armed forces, including the launch of three SAT, for a total cost of 3.6 billion pounds (5.5 billion euros) through 2020.
The second satellite Star One C1, built by the Franco-Italian Thales Alenia Space, is given by the 7th Brazil the European launcher. It will provide telecommunications services for broadband Internet Latin America and between South America and North America.
The Brazilian operator Star One is a subsidiary specializing in satellite telecommunications Mexican group Telmex.
The launch was postponed Friday is the 35th Ariane V launcher and the 179th of an Ariane.
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