Spaceflight Now reports that Europe’s last Ariane 5 rocket “is now scheduled to lift off July 4 after being grounded for more than two weeks due to a problem with the pyrotechnic systems required to jettison the launcher’s strap-on solid rocket boosters.” Europe’s workhorse rocket “is being retired after 27 years of service.” The Ariane 5 was originally “scheduled to fly on June 16, but officials from Arianespace, the rocket’s commercial operator, announced on the eve of launch that they were delaying the mission to replace pyrotechnic transmission lines on the vehicle.” The suspect systems “identified fire explosive charges that jettison one of the two solid rocket boosters two minutes into flight, then to activate the ‘distancing’ system, which uses small thrusters on the boosters to ensure the spent casings safely fly clear of the Ariane 5’s core stage as it continues its climb to orbit.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
