Investigation into rocket explosionFrom CNN.COM:
Thursday, December 12, 2002 Posted: 12:05 PM EST (1705 GMT)
Ariane-5 exploded three minutes after liftoff
KOUROU, French Guiana -- An investigation will be held to discover why Europe's most powerful rocket crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff, officials said.
Ariane-5, carrying two satellites, veered off course three minutes after takeoff from Arianespace's base in French Guiana, crashing into the Atlantic.
It was the second failed launch for Ariane-5 in quick succession after a November 29 flight was cancelled when the main engine failed to ignite.
A commission would begin investigating on Monday, Arianespace flight director Jean-Yves Le Gall said.
After an initially successful liftoff, the unmanned rocket exploded, in the latest setback to the project and the European aerospace industry.
Ariane-5 was carrying two payloads, both insured: Stentor, an experimental telecommunications satellite commissioned by France's space agency CNES, and Hot Bird-7, Eutelsat SA's television broadcast satellite.
The Ariane-5 is the latest and most powerful in the 13-nation European Space Agency's line of Ariane rockets. Earlier Ariane rockets could carry payloads of about 7 tons.
The launch of the new version had been regarded as a test for Arianespace, which wanted to demonstrate that it can trim operating costs by placing two heavy satellites into orbit at a time.
Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall apologised to its customers, saying: "We've been through difficult times before and we will overcome this challenge."
He described the explosion as "very serious."
The European aerospace industry has suffered recently as it continues heated competition with the U.S. for orders in the lucrative satellite launching market.
The market has dried up in the past few years as the push to launch new satellites lessened after the tech boom.
But the shockwaves from this latest rocket explosion will also be felt by the insurance industry as the fallout could push premiums higher, CNN's Robyn Curnow reported.
There have been calls for some form of self-insurance, where risk would be shared among commercial rocket manufacturers.
The Ariane-5 faced a major setback last year when the rocket was grounded for seven months after a botched launch in July 2001, when the rocket placed two payloads into faulty orbits.
Launches resumed in March when an Ariane-5 rocket successfully released an environment-monitoring satellite into orbit.
Wednesday's failed mission was the 156th launch for Ariane since the European launcher was put into service in December 1979. It was the 11th this year.
Copyright 2002 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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