ARIANE-506 Flight V-130 Mission Update 13 July 2000

Mission Update:
Flight 130
July 13: A mission stand-down after a hardware warning
 
 
The smooth launch campaign for Flight 130 has been interrupted because of an anomaly detected during endurance testing in Europe on a future version of Ariane 5’s upper stage.
 
Activity at the Spaceport is now focused at putting the Flight 130 launcher and its dual satellite payload into a standby mode until a new liftoff date is set.
 
The mission was postponed after the anomaly during a long duration attitude control system ground for the future "Versatile" version of Ariane 5’s EPS upper stage. In the wake of the anomaly, a warning was issued for the similar attitude control system that is installed on Flight 130’s Ariane 5.
 
When additional checks were unable to confirm the flight readiness of attitude control system hardware installed on the Flight 130 vehicle, Arianespace made the launch postponement decision.
 
The attitude control system uses hydrazine propellant, and is integrated in Ariane 5’s vehicle equipment bay. It provides roll control during operation of Ariane 5’s main cryogenic stage after the solid rocket boosters have separated from the launcher. The attitude control system continues to function during powered flight of the upper stage, ensuring three-axis control for all satellite positioning maneuvers.
 
A new launch date for Flight 130 should be announced soon, with the mission now anticipated for the first half of September.
 
This means that Arianespace’s next launch will be Flight 131, which is targeted for August 11. Flight 131 will use an Ariane 4 to orbit the Brasilsat B4 and Nilesat 102 satellites.