(CercleFinance.com) – Arianespace announced last night the establishment with the European Space Agency (ESA) of a commission of inquiry following the failure of the last commercial mission of its European rocket Vega C.
The commission will be responsible for analyzing the reasons for the failure and defining the measures to ensure all the conditions of safety and reliability for a resumption of flights on the launcher.
After takeoff and separation of the first stage which took place under normal conditions, a decrease in pressure was observed following the ignition of the second stage engine, which led to an order to destroy the launcher and the premature termination of the mission.
No injuries are reported.
The Vega C rocket was to put into orbit the last two Pléiades Neo satellites built, owned and operated by Airbus for its customers’ military and civil applications.
Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran which holds 74% of its capital.