Ariane Flight 145: A first move to the final assembly building

Flight 145’s Ariane 5 has moved from the Spaceport’s integration building to
the final assembly facility, where the vehicle will be placed in a standby
mode as preparations move ahead for its launch in January.

The Ariane 5 will be rolled back to the integration building in early
November for installation of a flight-ready upper stage. A second transfer
of the launcher will follow, with the completed Ariane 5 moving once again
to the final assembly building for installation of the mission’s Envisat
payload.

This extended preparation process allows additional time for
re-qualification of Ariane 5’s upper stage, which malfunctioned during
Flight 142 last July.