Status Report

Ariane-5, flight V-130 mission update 31 July 2000

By SpaceRef Editor
July 31, 2000
Filed under

Ariane 5 returns to the launcher integration building
 
 
The Ariane 5 for Flight 130 was moved from the final assembly building back to the launcher integration building today, where it was put on standby until the mission campaign begins again.
 
Flight 130’s liftoff originally had been scheduled for July 25, but it was postponed after an anomaly was detected during endurance testing in Europe on a future version of Ariane 5’s upper stage.
 
When the decision was made to delay Flight 130, the Ariane 5 had gone through most of its assembly and integration process. This began May 30 in the launcher integration building, where the cryogenic core central stage was erected and mated with the two solid boosters. The storable propellant upper stage and the vehicle equipment bay were added, and the vehicle was moved July 6 on its mobile launch table to the final assembly building.
 
With the mission launch now planned in September, program manages choose to free up the final assembly building by moving the launch table with its Ariane 5 back to the launcher integration building.
 
Once the vehicle was rolled back, a new launch table built for Ariane 5 missions was moved into the final assembly building for fit checks with electrical, pneumatic and other hookups. This table was produced to increase Arianespace’s mission rate and flexibility, allowing two Ariane 5s to be prepared for launch in parallel.
 
Flight 130’s two mission payloads remain at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, awaiting a new launch date. The Astra 2B spacecraft for Luxembourg’s SociÈtÈ EuropÈenne des Satellites (SES) is in the Ariane 5 final assembly building, where it receives a battery charge twice a week. The GE Americom GE-7 spacecraft is in a "sleep" mode in the S3A satellite preparation building.
 
While Flight 130 awaits its new mission date, Flight 131 with an Ariane 4 launch vehicle continues its preparations for a liftoff targeted for August 17.

SpaceRef staff editor.