Yahsat 1A, Intelsat New Dawn = Ariane 5ECA (VA201) - 22.04.11 21:37 UTC

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-press-release/2011/3-30-2011.asp

Arianespace Flight VA201: Interruption of the countdown[/size]
Kourou, March 30, 2011

In the last seconds of Ariane Flight VA201's launch countdown as the Vulcain cryogenic main stage engine was being ignited, the checkout process detected an anomaly on the launcher, interrupting the final countdown.

The Ariane 5 launcher and payload immediately switched to a safe mode.

Data analysis is underway to determine the cause of the anomaly, and in parallel, the launcher will be transferred to the Final Assembly Building – where it will be returned to a flight-ready condition.

Arianespace will set a new launch date as soon as possible.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2011/780.asp

Ariane 5 launch with Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn: Launch countdown interrupted[/size]

March 30, 2011 – Ariane Flight VA201

The launch countdown for tonight's Ariane 5 mission with the Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn satellites was interrupted prior to liftoff when an anomaly detected during the automated checkout procedure stopped the sequence before ignition of the solid boosters.

The synchronized countdown was conducted as planned, including the startup of Ariane 5's cryogenic main engine.  Following the normal procedures for an Ariane 5 launch, this cryogenic engine's operation is fully validated during a period of seven seconds before an ignition command is given to the two solid boosters – which commits the vehicle to liftoff.

Arianespace Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said the cryogenic main engine's checkout process was not completed successfully because of an anomaly detected on the launcher, preventing the boosters' ignition and thereby averting the launch.  The Ariane 5 and its two payloads were then switched to a safe mode on the launch pad.

Le Gall stated that while data analysis is underway to determine the anomaly's source, the Ariane 5 will be rolled back to the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building, where it is to be returned to a flight-ready condition.  "We do not take any risks, and therefore it is very important we determine the causes," he added.

Arianespace will set a new launch date as soon as possible.

[Dude]

пресс-релиз похоже писал капитан Эвидо.

[instml]

Запуск Ariane-5 с космодрома Куру отложен из-за технических проблем

МОСКВА, 31 мар - РИА Новости. Запуск ракеты-носителя Ariane-5, которая должна была вывести на орбиту два спутника связи Yahsat Y1A и Intelsat New Dawn, отложен на несколько дней из-за проблем с криогенным двигателем, сообщает в четверг агентство Франс Пресс со ссылкой на заявление европейского космического концерна Arianespace.

Пуск было запланировано произвести в среду поздно вечером с экваториального космодрома Куру во Французской Гвиане, однако произошло возгорание двигателя.

"Запуск был неудачным", - цитирует агентство заявление представителя Arianespace, который отметил, что концерн "проанализирует причины" возникшей проблемы с двигателем.

По его словам, в связи со сложившейся ситуацией запуск будет отложен "на несколько дней".

Предполагается, что принадлежащий властям ОАЭ спутник Yahsat Y1A будет транслировать сигнал на Ближний Восток, Африку, Европу и Юго-восточную Азию, а спутник Intelsat New Dawn - на Африку.

http://www.rian.ru/science/20110331/359553286.html

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-press-release/2011/4-11-2011-va201-new-launch-date.asp

Arianespace Flight VA201; Ariane 5 ECA with Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn: Liftoff is scheduled for Friday, April 22, 2011[/size]

Evry, April 11, 2011

With the additional checkout and verification now in progress on the Ariane 5 ECA launcher, Arianespace has decided to resume the operations for Ariane Flight VA201 with the Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn satellite payloads.

Liftoff of the Ariane 5 launcher is now scheduled for:

    Friday, April 22 at 6:37 p.m., local time in Kourou, French Guiana
    Friday, April 22, at 5:37 p.m. in Washington D.C.,
    Friday, April 22, at 21:37 UTC,
    Friday, April 22, at 11:37 p.m. in Paris, and
    Saturday, April 23 at 1:37 a.m. in Abu Dhabi.

[Разъём]

Результат работы аварийной комиссии (насколько известно):
После команды зажигание ДУ Вулкан центрального блока EPC (Т0), во время автоматической проверки его работы в течении первых ~6,5 сек до подачи команды на зажигание боковых ускорителей EAP, циклограмма была остановлена системой управления на ~4,5 сек. Была обнаружена ненорма выставки в начальное положение одного из двух гидроэлектроприводов камеры ДУ Вулкан.
Возможно, неисправность связана с подтеканием привода либо неисправностью командно-распределительного устройства. Ждём информации...

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/launch/110415-ariane-abort-engine-nozzle.html

Fri, 15 April, 2011
Imobilized Engine Nozzle Caused Ariane 5 Abort[/size]
By Peter B. de Selding

    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The March 30 launch abort of Europe's Ariane 5 rocket after the main engine had been ignited was caused by one or more components attached to the engine nozzle that prevented the nozzle from moving freely during ignition, the head of the Arianespace launch consortium said April 15.

    The suspect components have since been removed, and replacements tested and installed on the Ariane 5 ECA rocket, Jean-Yves Le Gall said in an interview. The launch, to carry Intelsat's New Dawn and startup operator Yahsat's Yahsat 1A telecommunications satellites, has been rescheduled for April 22.

    The launch abort occurred after the end of the vehicle's usual automated sequence preceding ignition, a time when the on-board computer verifies that all systems are functioning correctly.

    The March 30 countdown proceeded without a hitch, letting go the ignition of the main-stage cryogenic Vulcain engine. Typically that motor then burns for seven seconds, time for a final series of checks by the computer. If all is OK, the order is given to ignite the Ariane 5's two large strap-on solid-rocket boosters, which provide most of the initial thrust as the vehicle moves through the atmosphere.

    Sensing a problem, the computer shut down the engine about midway through this seven-second firing.

    "We have not isolated a single probable cause, but several components attached to the [Vulcain] engine and nozzle did not give the nozzle sufficient freedom of movement. The actuators then center the nozzle," Le Gall said in an interview. "In this case, the computer found that the nozzle was not moving as it should, and it correctly stopped the ignition."

    It was the first time in Ariane 5's history that this has happened.

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ariane/va201/110418update/

Arianespace blames launch abort on engine actuator[/size]
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: April 18, 2011

Engineers traced the cause of March's dramatic last-second abort of an Ariane 5 launch to an actuator in the vehicle's Vulcain main engine, a small part since replaced to allow the rocket to blast off as soon as Friday with communications satellites for the Middle East and Africa, according to Arianespace officials.

    
The Ariane 5 rocket inside the final assembly building. Credit: Arianespace
 
The 16-story rocket and its two commercial payloads appeared ready to soar into space March 30, but the flight was automatically aborted when computers noticed something was amiss with the Ariane's hydrogen-fueled main engine.

The Ariane 5 rocket's on-board computer detected an "incorrect displacement" of one of the Vulcain 2 engine actuators less than a half-second before the launcher was supposed to lift off from the launch pad, according to an anomaly summary provided to Spaceflight Now.

In a typical Ariane 5 countdown, the Vulcain 2 engine ignites about seven seconds before computers give the command to fire the launcher's two solid rocket boosters, powerful strap-on motors that produce the energy for the vehicle to rise away from the pad at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.

During those seconds, the Ariane 5 is put through an automated health check before committing the rocket to flight.

The flight computer detected the anomaly March 30 about 6.6 seconds into the Vulcain engine's burn, just a fraction of a second before the solid rocket boosters would have ignited, according to Arianespace, the commercial operator of the Ariane 5.

It was the first time an Ariane 5 rocket experienced such a last-second fault after its engine was already firing.

Well-practiced procedures allowed the launch team to immediately put the rocket, payloads and ground facilities into a safe configuration. The rocket was drained of cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants before it was rolled back to the spaceport's final assembly building April 1 for inspections and repairs.

Engineers decided not to replace the Ariane 5's main engine, but workers removed multiple actuators from the Vulcain 2 and shipped them to their manufacturer in Europe for analysis, according to Mario de Lepine, an Arianespace spokesperson.

The actuators are small components that move the engine. Technicians inserted fresh units in their place.

"The launch vehicle is now back to its normal sequence of operations leading to the next launch attempt," de Lepine said.

Arianespace set up a task force with the European Space Agency, industry and CNES, the French space agency, to investigate the problem and oversee the rocket's return-to-flight operations.

The Ariane 5 is scheduled to return to the space center's ELA-3 launch zone Thursday morning. Liftoff is set for Friday at 2137 GMT (5:37 p.m. EDT).

The European rocket will haul the Yahsat 1A and Intelsat New Dawn communications satellites into orbit.

Operated by Al Yah Satellite Communications Co. of Abu Dhabi, Yahsat 1A will provide direct-to-home television programming, secure Ka-band communications capacity for government and military applications in the United Arab Emirates and other nations.

The 6,600-pound Intelsat New Dawn spacecraft will link Africa, Western Europe, the Middle East and Pakistan through Ku-band and C-band transponders and antennas. Mostly financed by South African investors, Intelsat New Dawn is geared for wireless broadband, television and other media applications.

[Старый]

Это был первый в истории фальстарт Арианы?

[Dude]

Была обнаружена ненорма выставки в начальное положение одного из двух гидроэлектроприводов камеры ДУ Вулкан.
Возможно, неисправность связана с подтеканием привода либо неисправностью командно-распределительного устройства. Ждём информации...

поставщик SABCA и называется это похоже GAM - Group d'Activation Moteur,
http://www.sabca.be/pages/0139/Mechatronics.en.php

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2011/786.asp

Ariane 5 is configured for its April 22 liftoff with a dual-satellite heavyweight payload[/size]

April 19, 2011 – Ariane Flight VA201

Arianespace is on track for the rescheduled April 22 liftoff of its Ariane 5 mission with the Yahsat 1A and Intelsat New Dawn satellite payloads after replacement of actuators on the heavy-lift launcher's Vulcain 2 cryogenic main engine.

The replacement was made following an interruption of the original final countdown on March 30, when an incorrect displacement of one of the Vulcain 2 engine's actuators was detected.

This anomaly was reported at 6.65 seconds into the Vulcain 2's ignition procedure, and it occurred during the pre-planned automatic checkout sequence of 7.05 seconds – when the cryogenic engine's operation is verified before the Ariane 5's two large solid propellant boosters are commanded to ignite.

Once the anomaly was detected, a shut-down of the Vulcain 2 engine was ordered – with Ariane 5, its two satellites, and the Spaceport's launch installation immediately put in safe conditions using identified and qualified procedures.

The launcher was transferred back to the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building on April 1, where the actuator replacement was implemented and the Ariane 5 was returned to its flight configuration.

New mission planning calls for Ariane 5's rollout to the ELA-3 launch zone on Thursday, April 21, followed by the April 22 liftoff during a launch window that opens at 6:37 p.m. local time in French Guiana and continues to 7:41 p.m.

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2011/787.asp

Ariane 5 is cleared for its launch with Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn[/size]

April 20, 2011 – Ariane Flight VA201

Arianespace's second heavy-lift flight of 2011 has been authorized for its April 22 liftoff following today's launch readiness review at the Spaceport in French Guiana.

Originally scheduled for liftoff on March 30, this dual-payload mission with Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn was delayed following an interruption of the final countdown when an incorrect displacement of one of the Vulcain 2 engine's actuators was detected. The Ariane 5 was transferred back to the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building on April 1, where the actuator replacement was implemented and the launch vehicle was returned to its flight configuration.

With today's successful review, Ariane 5 is now cleared for its rollout tomorrow from the Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch zone, where it will be readied for liftoff on Friday during a launch window that opens at 6:37 p.m. local time in French Guiana and continues to 7:41 p.m.

Ariane 5's payload lift performance for this latest mission is nearly 10,065 kg., which includes a combined mass of 8,965 kg. for the Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn spacecraft, plus the launcher's dual-passenger dispenser system and satellite integration hardware.

Yahsat Y1A will be deployed first in the flight sequence, with its release scheduled at 27 min. into the mission – followed by Intelsat New Dawn's separation from the Ariane 5 approximately 35 minutes after liftoff.

Based on Astrium's Eurostar E3000 platform, Yahsat Y1A will be utilized by the Al Yah Satellite Communications Company to provide customized relay services for government and commercial sectors in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Southwest Asia.

Intelsat New Dawn is the result of a joint venture with a consortium led by Convergence Partners and Intelsat, and was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia. It will be operated and marketed as a part of the global Intelsat fleet, bringing to 22 the number of Intelsat satellites serving Africa.

Пуск между 01:37 и 02:41 ЛМВ 23.04.2011.

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2011/788.asp

Ready for liftoff: Ariane 5 is in the launch zone for its heavy-lift flight on April 22[/size]

April 21, 2011 – Ariane Flight VA201

Arianespace's mission with the Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn satellites is on track for its liftoff tomorrow evening, following the workhorse Ariane 5's rollout to the ELA-3 launch zone at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

Riding atop its mobile launch table, the heavy-lift vehicle emerged from the Final Assembly Building for its transfer to the launch pad, where it was secured in place. With the rollout now completed, the final countdown will begin for Ariane 5's April 22 liftoff at the start of a launch window that opens at 6:37 p.m. local time in French Guiana and continues until 7:41 p.m.

This will be the second Ariane 5 flight of 2011, with a payload lift performance of nearly 10,065 kg. – which includes a combined mass of 8,965 kg. for the Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn spacecraft, plus the launcher's dual-payload dispenser system and associated integration hardware.

Riding as the upper passenger in Ariane 5's payload "stack" is Yahsat Y1A, which will be released at 27 min. into the mission. This satellite is based on EADS Astrium's Eurostar E3000 platform, and its communications payload – which is designed to operate in Ku- and C-bands – was supplied by Thales Alenia Space.

Once in service, Yahsat Y1A will be utilized by the Al Yah Satellite Communications Company to provide customized relay services for government and commercial sectors in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Southwest Asia.

Intelsat New Dawn – which was developed for a joint venture consortium led by Convergence Partners and Intelsat – also carries Ku- and C-band transponders, and will be deployed from Ariane 5's lower passenger position at approximately 35 minutes after liftoff.

Produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation, Intelsat New Dawn is the first-ever African private sector communications satellite, and was conceived to supply critical communications infrastructure for African customers – delivering wireless backhaul, broadband and media content, which are among the fastest growing satellite-based applications in Africa.

Tomorrow's mission is designated VA201, signifying the 201st launch of an Ariane family vehicle since 1979. It follows the February 16 flight of an Ariane 5 with the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), which was deployed for a servicing mission with the International Space Station.

With the Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn satellites under its payload fairing, Arianespace's Ariane 5 approaches the launch pad to complete today's rollout.

[Salo]

Видеотрансляция:
http://www.videocorner.tv/videocorner2/live_flv/index.php?langue=en

[Salo]

Пошла трансляция.

[Salo]

Улетела!

[Salo]

Есть отделение СТУ.

[Salo]

Есть сброс ГО.

[Salo]

Первый пошёл!

[Salo]

Второй пошёл!

[Salo]

Аплодисменты! :wink: