PHASE 3D Launch Threatened by Ariane Delay

ARIANE 5 SCHEDULE DELAY COULD AFFECT PHASE 3D LAUNCH

 

An artist's rendering of the Phase 3D spacecraft.

Phase 3D project officials are attempting to determine the impact of an Ariane 5 launch delay. Arianespace has postponed the launch of Flight 130 (Ariane Flight 506), scheduled to launch July 25, while it looks into an "anomaly" uncovered during testing. Phase 3D--the next-generation Amateur Radio satellite--tentatively had been scheduled to launch aboard Flight 132 (Ariane Flight 507), the next Ariane 5 flight in line after 130.

"We don't know. We're asking the question right now," said AMSAT-NA President Keith Baker, KB1SF, when asked about a possible schedule impact on P3D. He said there's been no official word yet as to whether the Flight 130 delay will affect Phase 3D's launch schedule.

 

The Ariane 5 launch vehicle.

Arianespace said it was holding up the Flight 130 launch until an upper stage anomaly detected during endurance testing on Ariane 5 components in Europe could be resolved.

Flight 132 had been set for mid-September at the earliest and possibly as late as the end of October. Arianespace is expected to announce a new launch date for Flight 130 soon, with the mission now being targeted for the first half of September.

The Phase 3D satellite is at the European Spaceport in French Guiana awaiting the start of launch preparations. A launch contract accepting Phase 3D as a payload for the first suitable Ariane 5 launch vehicle was signed last October.

For more information about Phase 3D, visit the AMSAT-NA Web site.

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