Tim Furniss
The European space industry is in limbo. It is awaiting, with extremely sweaty palms, the next Ariane 5 launch and, with puzzlement, the outcome of negotiations to
form a major European space company.
The next launch of the Ariane 5 is scheduled for 30 October and the European Space Agency (ESA)may be glad that it is likely to be oveshadowed by John
Glenn's space jamboree on NASA's Shuttle the day before.
The launch will be the most important in the history of the European space programme.
Desired
It follows the spectacular explosion of the first Ariane 5 in June 1996 and an only partially successful second test flight in October 1997 which placed its test
satellites slightly short of the desired geostationary transfer orbit.
If it had been a commercial flight, Ariane 502, as it was designated, would have been declared a partial success because a communications satellite would have had
to use its own attitude control propellants to place it in the correct geostationary orbit. This would have reduced its operational lifetime in orbit.
So, Ariane 503 must succeed. The reputation of the European launcher industry and the future commercialisation of the vehicle by Arianespace is at stake.
While Arianespace's current Ariane 4 workhorse is still available - and will be until 2003 - the Ariane 5 is needed because it can carry more payload to orbit and so
help maintain the company's lead in the commercial launcher market.
Several ESA payloads are too heavy to fly on Ariane 4s and have to fly on the Ariane 5. One of these is Europe's 23m long, environmental satellite flagship, Envisat,
a model of which has been unveiled outside Hall 1 at the Show.
The Daimler Benz Aerospace Space Systems, Matra Marconi Space-built spacecraft, which weighs about 8,000kg - will carry 10 major environmental monitoring
instruments, including an advanced synthetic aperture radar, which is the black rectangular antenna underneath the spacecraft. Another important instrument is a
global ozone monitor.
Envisat is dominated by the large solar array attached to the platform by a long boom. The array will convert the sun's energy into 6.8kW of electricity. The array is
folded up against the craft for launch inside the payload fairing of the Ariane 5 launcher.
The launch has been pushed from July 1999 into 2000 as a result of delays in the Ariane 5 programme. The vital Ariane 503 development mission scheduled for
October, if successful, will be followed by Arianespace-operated commercial missions, starting with the 504 flight in about March 1999.
Among the planned Arianespace missions in 1999 is the launch of ESA's X-Ray Multi Mirror space telescope, scheduled for flight 506 during a tight launch window
starting in August 1999, so Envisat will have to wait awhile.
The industry will have to wait a while longer too, to find out what will happen to the proposed formation of a European space company. It looks as though there will
actually be two. A few months ago, there were four: Aerospatiale, Matra Marconi Space (MMS), Alcatel, DaimlerBenz Aerospace (DASA).
Original
MMS has been negotiating for months about the formation of the MMS/DASA space company, with the highly original and evocative name of NewCo.
Last July, Alcatel, Aerospatiale and Thomson announced the proposed formation of a new company. But now, Aerospatiale is moving into the MMS/DASA camp.
leaving Alcatel and Thomson on their own.
So, the intensive work that has been going on between MMS and DASA, has to be repeated with Aerospatiale. No one really knows that will happen. There are
even rumours that GEC Marconi will join up with Alcatel and Thomson.
Source: Flight Daily News
