Ariane flies again.Ariane flies again Europe's doorway to space is open again, with the successful Sept. 15 launching of an Ariane 3 rocket that deployed a pair of communications satellites communications satellite artificial satellite that functions as part of a global radio-communications network. Echo 1, the first communications satellite, launched in 1960, was an instrumented inflatable sphere that passively reflected radio signals back to , one for the 26-nation European Telecommunications Satellite Organization and another for Australia. The door had been slammed shut on May 30, 1986, with the takeoff of the previous Ariane, an Ariane 2. The rocket's first two stages had worked fine, but the third stage (the same kind used with the Ariane 3) shut off prematurely, forcing safety officials to blow it up in mid-ascent. The loss, which also destroyed a $55 million communications satellite, capped a disastrous four-month span for Western launch efforts that had begun with the space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. Challenger explosion, followed by failures of the U.S. unmanned Titan 34D and Delta rockets The Delta family of rockets is used in an expendable launch system that has provided space launch capability for the United States since 1960. Delta has a history of over 300 launches, with a 95% success rate. . The latest Ariane launching incorporated a redesigned version of the booster's third-stage ignition system ignition system In a gasoline engine, the means used for producing an electric spark to ignite the fuel-air mixture in the cylinders to produce the motive force. The ignition system consists of a storage battery recharged by a generator, an induction coil, a device to . The next Ariane is presently scheduled to take off in November, carrying Germany's first direct-broadcasting television satellite. In December, another Ariane is to deploy a pair of communications satellites for customers in France and the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . |
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