Ariane 5 underscored its reputation as the workhorse of heavylift launchers with its 42nd consecutive successful launch, and heaviest in its history, to send the 20.1t Johannes Kepler, the European Space Agency's second Automated Transfer Vehicle robotic supply ship, to the International Space Station.
The 16 February launch, at 18:50 from the ESA's French Guiana spaceport at Kourou, had been delayed by 24h after a measurement anomaly in the liquid oxygen propellant tank of Ariane 5's cryogenic main stage caused a launch hold about 4min before scheduled lift-off.
The launch was also the 200th in the Ariane programme and kicked off what promises to be a busy year for Arianspace, which has eight more French Guiana launches planned for 2011 and three from Baikonur cosmodrome.
This is also a pivotal year for ESA, which will by the end of the year be offering French Guiana launches on three vehicles: Ariane 5, Soyuz - which will be ready for Kourou operations later this year - and its own, lighter Vega rocket, expected to make its maiden flight from Kourou this year.
Source: Flight International
