The return to flight of Arianespace’s Vega C has been delayed due to a “mechanical issue” with the mobile gantry.
The countdown was stopped when it became clear that the mobile gantry could not be withdrawn for the Vega C launch. Arianespace posted: “Due to a mechanical issue preventing the withdrawal of the mobile gantry, the launch chronology has been stopped.”
The launch has been rescheduled for December 5 at 2120 UTC.
Due to the postponement, Vega C is now expected to depart after the rescheduled Proba-3 mission on a PSLV-XL rocket from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Proba-3 consists of a pair of spacecraft that will fly in formation and perform studies of the Sun’s corona by creating prolonged solar eclipses on demand (hence the requirement for precise formation flying). The Indian rocket was delayed after an anomaly was detected in the redundant propulsion system of the Coronagraph spacecraft.
According to ESA boss Josef Aschbacher, a software fix was being evaluated to permit a launch at 1034 UTC.
However, it was not software that prevented the Vega C from getting off the ground, although Arianespace was coy on the precise nature of the mechanical issue. Aschbacher said: “Delays happen, but the important part is there is no issue with Sentinel-1C or Vega-C. We have high hopes for a launch tomorrow.”
The ESA boss has a deep connection to the Sentinel-1C mission. He previously served as the head of the Copernicus Space Office before rising to the Director of Earth Observation Programmes, then taking on the role of ESA Director General.
And all that without being a customer of Elon Musk or paying for a ride on one of his rockets.
The Sentinel spacecraft are part of ESA’s Copernicus program, originally dubbed Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). Sentinel-1A and 1B were among the satellites in development during Aschbacher’s time as head of the office. Sentinel-1C will replace the failed Sentinel-1B.
Arianespace is once again closing in on a return to flight for the Vega C and the launch of the Sentinel-1C spacecraft.
As if to underline the need for flawless execution, while Arianespace scrubbed, SpaceX launched yet another Falcon 9 last night, this time from California and carrying 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, “completing the first orbital shell of our Direct to Cell constellation,” according to SpaceX. ®
