Arianespace has postponed the launch of the Ariane 5 Flight 130 set for 25 July from Kourou, French Guiana, after an upper-stage anomaly was discovered during endurance testing. The launch was to carry Astra and GE Americom satellites.
The anomaly was detected during a long duration test of the attitude control system of the future uprated EPS upper stage for the new "versatile" version of the Ariane 5. The Ariane 5's current EPS uses the same system, so a thorough check was carried out on this component on V130. The check could not confirm flight readiness, says Arianespace.
Source: Flight International
