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Arianespace releases initial information on Flight 157
12 December 2002
During a press conference today in Kourou,
French Guiana, Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall provided initial
information on the failure of Flight 157. He also announced the
establishment of an independent inquiry board.
Initial data analysis performed last night showed that the countdown,
engine ignition and initial phase of flight were normal. A first anomaly
occurred 96 seconds into the mission, involving the cooling circuit for
the Vulcain 2 engine that powers the main cryogenic stage.
From T + 178 sec to T + 186 sec, the engine speed changed and a
significant flight control perturbation occurred.
At T + 187 sec, the Ariane 5's payload fairing was jettisoned as
planned, but the launcher's attitude was not correct. The launcher
subsequently demonstrated erratic behavior.
In compliance with range safety procedures, the launcher was destroyed
at approximately 456 sec. into the mission. The Ariane 5 was at an
altitude of about 69 kilometers and a distance of 800 kilometers off the
coast of French Guiana.
Jean-Yves Le Gall announced that an independent inquiry board is being
set up, with members to be named within a few days.
The board will have two main objectives:
1. Ensure that the Flight 157 anomaly will not affect upcoming launches
of the baseline version of Ariane 5.
2. Analyze, understand and correct the Flight 157 failure causes so
that the 10-ton-payload Ariane 5 version can resume launches with high
reliability.
The date for the next press conference will be announced shortly
following the submittal of initial conclusions by the inquiry board.
The launch date for the next scheduled Arianespace mission, Flight 156,
which will use an Ariane 4 to orbit the NSS-6 satellite, has been
confirmed for the evening of Tuesday, December 17.
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