Cayenne (AFP)
The "persistence" of "unfavorable winds" led Sunday evening a 4th postponement of the European mission Vega, from French Guiana, announced Arianespace in a press release.
"The winds aloft above the Guyana space center remaining unfavorable, the operations of the final chronology of the launch have been suspended" announced by Arianespace press release, a few minutes before the final count of the Vega launch "VV16".
The "VV16" mission was scheduled to take off Sunday at 10.51 p.m. local time (Monday 03.51 a.m. in Paris) from the Kourou space center, in French Guiana, for a group flight of 53 satellites.
"The Vega launcher and the 53 satellites" "are in a stabilized configuration and in total security" added Arianespace, the company which operates the launches.
"The weather forecast does not show improvement in the coming days", "a new schedule of operations" will be "defined" also informed Arianespace.
By then, "operations aimed at restoring the full potential of the launcher, by recharging its batteries" were decided by the ground teams finally expressed Arianespace.
This is the 4th postponement of this Vega mission. Originally scheduled for March 18, 2020, it was suspended due to the coronavirus crisis, then due to poor weather conditions.
This program, supported by the European Union and the European Space Agency (ESA), is unprecedented because it is the first European launch of grouped flights ("rideshare").
This group flight is made up of seven small satellites (weighing between 15 and 150 kilos) and 46 nano-satellites, for applications ranging from communication to Earth observation, via scientific research.
The "VV16" mission was to mark the return of the Vega rocket since its failure in the summer of 2019, which had led to its destruction, as a precaution.
© 2020 AFP