2023-07-05 23:37:29
The European launch vehicle Ariane 5 has launched into space for the last time. It took off successfully from the spaceport in 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 start planned for Tuesday evening was postponed again by 24 hours to Wednesday evening.
In recent years, the rocket from the European space company Arianespace has been a reliable space transporter, which, among other things, brought NASA’s James Webb telescope into space. The successor model Ariane 6 will be operational at the end of the year at the earliest.
The launch of Ariane 5 does not mean unalloyed success for Europe’s space industry: Europe is now without 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 launch vehicles and that is a huge problem for all of us,” said ESA boss Josef Aschbacher, describing the situation. It is not yet clear when exactly Esa wants to use the Vega C again. It is expected to take off again later this year.
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