Vega-C rocket carrying two Airbus satellites goes missing shortly after take-off
Vega-C rocket
The European light launcher rocket Vega-C, that had two Airbus satellites Pléiades Neo 5 and 6 on board, was lost shortly after lift-off from French Guiana on Tuesday, the company behind the launch said.
The rocket was supposed to place into orbit two Earth observation satellites built by Airbus. They were to join an existing network that captures high-quality images of different points on the planet several times a day.
"The mission is lost," Stephane Israel, head of commercial launch service provider Arianespace, said from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana.
The rocketlifted off at 10:47 pm local time and 10 minutes later, its trajectory deviated from its programmed route and communications were lost, it said.
The company informed in a statement that an "anomaly occurred" in the second stage of the launcher, "ending the Vega-C mission.
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Later,Stéphane Israël,ArianespaceCEO, reportedly confirmed that an "underpressure" was detected on the rocket's second stage Zefiro 40 motor, causing the failure of tonight's launch.
Arianespace did not report any debris fallout after liftoff.
The first commercial flight of the rocket after its successful inaugural launch on July 13 was initially supposed to happen on November 24. However, the flight was postponed for a month due to a faulty launch element.
Tuesday's launch was the fifth and final launch of the year for Europe's spaceport in Kourou. More details are likely to be revealed at a press briefing scheduled for noon on Wednesday in Kourou.
(With inputs from agencies)
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