CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Arianespace restored some confidence in its Ariane 5 rocket Wednesday following the successful launch of two satellites from the Guiana Space Center in South America.
Safely lofted into orbit during the company's 159th launch were the Galaxy 12 and Insat 3A communications satellites.
The space shot was the first of an Ariane 5 since a December 2002 mishap in which an upgraded Ariane 5 was lost on its inaugural mission.
"Everyone in the Ariane family worked hard these last months so we are able to ensure the continuation of our launch services, and we are committed to giving our customers the service they need," Arianespace chairman Jean-Yves LeGall said after the launch. "Arianespace has never stopped and we will continue to provide the best service to our customers."
Investigators blamed that disaster on the failure of the first stage main engine, a Vulcain 2 power plant that is more powerful than the Vulcain 1 engine used on Wednesday.
The newer Ariane 5 also features a more powerful upper stage modified from the recently retired Ariane 4 family of rockets, but it never got a chance to prove itself.
Return to flightArianespace grounded all of its Ariane 5 rockets during the investigation, resulting in the indefinite delay of the European Space Agency's comet probe Rosetta because it missed its launch window.
After successfully launching its final Ariane 4 rocket earlier this year, the European commercial spacelifter readied its original Ariane 5 version to fly again.
That first model is now sometimes called Ariane 5G, with the 'G' standing for generic.
Arianespace officials said they hope to fly a mix of the Ariane 5G with the improved upper stage -- but not with the Vulcain 2 engine -- some time in 2004.
That would be followed by making another attempt at launching the fully upgraded version.
Mission success
Wednesday's mission marked the 12th commercial launch for the Ariane 5.
Liftoff of the 151-foot-tall (46.1-meter-tall) came 6:52 p.m. EDT (2252 GMT) -- three minutes later than first announced due to a last-minute hold that was introduced on purpose so some liquid oxygen could be drained from the rocket to "tune" the main engine for this particular flight.
Launch also was delayed one day at the request of the Insat 3A satellite customer, who said they needed more time to verify there were no technical issues with their spacecraft.
Ariane 5's twin solid rocket boosters briefly lit up the Atlantic Ocean coast on the edge of the Amazon Jungle before the rocket flew into a low cloud deck and vanished from view.
Both spacecraft had separated as planned by the time the mission was declared a success about 39 minutes later.
Dual payloads
First off the Ariane 5G rocket was Insat 3A, a multipurpose satellite equipped with communications, weather monitoring and search and rescue payloads.
Built in Bangalore, India, and operated by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), this spacecraft will primarily provide telecommunications and television service for the Indian sub-continent.
Arianespace has worked with ISRO for 22 years, beginning with launch of the organization's first satellite -- Apple -- in June 1981. The Ariane rocket has now carried a total 10 satellites for ISRO.
With this launch the current Insat constellation includes six satellites and ISRO has plans to launch two more during the next two years.
The second spacecraft to be delivered into a geosynchronous transfer orbit was Galaxy 12, a high-powered communications satellite built by Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Va., for PanAmSat.
Galaxy 12 is destined for a final spot over the equator that will allow it to provide communication links between the continental United States and Hawaii and Alaska.
Arianespace has now delivered into orbit 18 satellites for PanAmSat, with the first flying atop the inaugural Ariane 4 launch in June 1988.
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