From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!eagle!karn Newsgroups: net.ham-radio,net.space Title: Apparent Ariane Launch Failure Article-I.D.: eagle.505 Posted: Thu Sep 9 23:45:31 1982 Received: Fri Sep 10 06:43:26 1982 >From a special Amsat net: The liftoff of Ariane L5 took place at 02:12:03.33 UTC Sept 10, 1982. The first and second stage flight appeared to be nominal. However, expected acquisition at Ascension island was NOT nominal. When the launcher was finally acquired late, it was apparently not on the planned trajectory; it appeared lower than expected. This occurred at about 12 minutes into the flight, about 2 minutes before the scheduled end of the third stage burn. It is not yet known whether the payload actually made it into an orbit, but even if it did, it is highly unlikely that the two payloads could be placed into the intended geostationary orbit. It does appear that the problem was either with the third stage engine or with the guidance system; the exact cause is not yet known. Fortunately (for us), there was no amateur radio satellite aboard this flight. However, it is a foregone conclusion that this apparent failure can only delay the scheduled launch date for Amsat Phase III-B (3 Feb 1983). Phil Karn, KA9Q