UAE military satellite lost in Vega launch failure

[Zapper]

Middle East countries should go with ISRO's Antrix which is much more cost effective and has a proven track record

 

[Philip the Arab]

Middle East countries should go with ISRO's Antrix which is much more cost effective and has a proven track record

Lol European satelittes have a much better track record than Indian satelittes. This is its first fail after 14 launches.

 

[Philip the Arab]

and they will probably make UAE pay for it

and UAE will probably say ok

There is warranty for accidents like this m8.

 

[Khafee]

UAE to 'come back stronger' with backup satellite
Sarwat Nasir/Dubai
Filed on July 13, 2019 | Last updated on July 13, 2019 at 10.26 pm

On July 11, the European Vega rocket, which was to carry Falcon Eye 1 into space, experienced a "technical glitch".

The UAE will "come back stronger" with its Falcon Eye 2 satellite after the initial one was destroyed due to a rocket launch failure, a UAE space official has said.

On July 11, the European Vega rocket, which was to carry Falcon Eye 1 into space, experienced a "technical glitch" just two minutes after liftoff.

The Director-General of the UAE Space Agency, Dr Mohammed AlAhbabi, tweeted on Saturday: "The loss of the UAE (Falcon Eye 1) satellite due to (Vega) rocket failure reminds us that space is hard and challenging, but this is why the UAE has (an) ambitious space programme. We will come back very soon with (Falcon Eye 2) stronger than ever before."

The UAE's space programme is characterised by "maturity, proper planning and effective management", he said.

"The system of the Falcon Eye includes two satellites (Falcon Eye 1 and Falcon Eye 2). The aim of the second one is to be an alternative to the first, in case there is a defect or a loss. Space has challenges and risks."

He said in another tweet that the space agency plans on launching Falcon Eye 2 by the end of this year. However, it is not yet clear which commercial services they will be using this time to send it off to orbit.

Vega has had 14 successful flights previously and this was its first failure. The European Space Agency and the firm that owns the rocket, Arianespace, has already launched an investigation.

Despite efforts to reconfigure the launcher from the ground, Arianespace later confirmed it had suffered a "major anomaly" and apologised to the UAE for the loss of its payload.

Falcon Eye 1 was a dual-use satellite for military and civilian applications. It was developed for the UAE Armed Forces and took four years to build.

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/dubai/uae-to-come-back-stronger-with-backup-satellite

and they will probably make UAE pay for it

and UAE will probably say ok

You didnt have to show the world how clueless you are.

 

[zulu]

Very nice work by UAE.such set backs quite common in space field main thing they still trying and putting efforts.Gonna help in for many civilians purpose too that's they way muslim countries should spent and focus more on science field and should start some joint space prog both for military and civilian benefits

UAE to 'come back stronger' with backup satellite
Sarwat Nasir/Dubai
Filed on July 13, 2019 | Last updated on July 13, 2019 at 10.26 pm

On July 11, the European Vega rocket, which was to carry Falcon Eye 1 into space, experienced a "technical glitch".

The UAE will "come back stronger" with its Falcon Eye 2 satellite after the initial one was destroyed due to a rocket launch failure, a UAE space official has said.

On July 11, the European Vega rocket, which was to carry Falcon Eye 1 into space, experienced a "technical glitch" just two minutes after liftoff.

The Director-General of the UAE Space Agency, Dr Mohammed AlAhbabi, tweeted on Saturday: "The loss of the UAE (Falcon Eye 1) satellite due to (Vega) rocket failure reminds us that space is hard and challenging, but this is why the UAE has (an) ambitious space programme. We will come back very soon with (Falcon Eye 2) stronger than ever before."

The UAE's space programme is characterised by "maturity, proper planning and effective management", he said.

"The system of the Falcon Eye includes two satellites (Falcon Eye 1 and Falcon Eye 2). The aim of the second one is to be an alternative to the first, in case there is a defect or a loss. Space has challenges and risks."

He said in another tweet that the space agency plans on launching Falcon Eye 2 by the end of this year. However, it is not yet clear which commercial services they will be using this time to send it off to orbit.

Vega has had 14 successful flights previously and this was its first failure. The European Space Agency and the firm that owns the rocket, Arianespace, has already launched an investigation.

Despite efforts to reconfigure the launcher from the ground, Arianespace later confirmed it had suffered a "major anomaly" and apologised to the UAE for the loss of its payload.

Falcon Eye 1 was a dual-use satellite for military and civilian applications. It was developed for the UAE Armed Forces and took four years to build.

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/dubai/uae-to-come-back-stronger-with-backup-satellite


You didnt have to show the world how clueless you are.

 

[Khafee]

Very nice work by UAE.such set backs quite common in space field main thing they still trying and putting efforts.Gonna help in for many civilians purpose too that's they way muslim countries should spent and focus more on science field and should start some joint space prog both for military and civilian benefits

Details of UAE civ sat prog
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/dubai/uae-successfully-launches-satellite-khalifa-sat

 

[Philip the Arab]

Details of UAE civ sat prog
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/dubai/uae-successfully-launches-satellite-khalifa-sat

Thats great for spying on Iran... Also, for spying on Israel.

 

[SQ8]

Considering the access it has to Pakistan; the GCC could have invested in SLV and launch station in the area.

That would avoid the intra country rivalries of the GCC but give them a common launch point.

Now however, the option would be to skip Europe and invest with ISRO and work off their launch system. The Indians for all their connections will not be prone to sabotage and will generally meet their commitments.

 

[God Parshuram]

A Vega rocket fired off its launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, at 9:53:03 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0153:03 GMT Thursday), but fell back to Earth minutes after after suffering an in-flight failure. Credit: Arianespace

A European Vega launcher failed Wednesday night around two minutes after liftoff from French Guiana and fell into the Atlantic Ocean, destroying an Airbus-built surveillance satellite for the United Arab Emirates.

Arianespace, the French launch service provider in charge of Wednesday night’s mission, declared a failure minutes after the 98-foot-tall (30-meter) Vega rocket took off from the Guiana Space Center on the northeastern coast of South America.

Luce Fabreguettes, Arianespace’s executive vice president of missions, operations and purchasing, said the failure occurred around the time of ignition of the Vega rocket’s solid-fueled Zefiro 23 second stage.

“As you have seen, about two minutes after liftoff, around the Z23 (second stage) ignition, a major anomaly occurred, resulting in the loss of the mission,” Fabreguettes said. “On behalf of Arianespace, I wish to express our deepest apologies to our customers for the loss of their payload.”

Officials released no details Wednesday night on what may have gone awry, but Arianespace teams in French Guiana and at Avio — the Vega’s prime contractor in Italy — were analyzing data downlinked from the rocket in the hours after the accident.

“From the first flight data analysis, we will get in the coming hours more precise information, and we will communicate to everybody at the soonest,” Fabreguettes said.

Tracking data from the rocket also suggested something went wrong about the time of the planned ignition of the Vega rocket’s second stage around two minutes after liftoff.

A plot showing the Vega rocket’s planned trajectory (green) and actual flight path (yellow) showed the vehicle flying off course less than three minutes after liftoff. Credit: Arianespace

The range operations director — known by the French acronym DDO — inside the Jupiter control center in French Guiana announced ignition of the second stage, but soon confirmed the launcher was not on its planned trajectory.

The top speed achieved by the rocket, according to telemetry data included in Arianespace’s webcast, was approximately 2.17 kilometers per second, or 4,850 mph at Plus+2 minutes, 13 seconds. The telemetry plot then showed the Vega rocket’s velocity decreasing, and the vehicle deviated below its planned ascent trajectory before falling into the Atlantic Ocean north of the Guiana Space Center.

The Zefiro 23 motor was supposed to fire for 77 seconds, then give way to a Zefiro 9 third stage and a liquid-fueled fourth stage.

It was not immediately clear whether range safety teams on the ground activated the Vega rocket’s destruct system after the launcher began losing altitude.

In a press release later Wednesday night, Arianespace said an anomaly occurred shortly after ignition of the Vega’s second stage. The company said it planned to set up an independent inquiry commission to investigate the failure.

The Vega rocket was attempting to place the Falcon Eye 1 Earth-imaging satellite into orbit for the UAE’s military. Falcon Eye 1 was the first of two identical surveillance satellites built for the UAE by French industry under an agreement negotiated in 2013.

Wednesday night’s failure was the first for a Vega launcher after 14 consecutive successful missions since its debut in February 2012.

The Vega rocket climbs into the night sky over French Guiana with Falcon Eye 1. Credit: Arianespace

The four-stage Vega rocket lifted off from the European-run Guiana Space Center at 9:53:03 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0153:03 GMT Thursday) after a five-day delay caused by unfavorable high-altitude winds over the spaceport.
The Vega rocket aimed to place the 2,638-pound (1,197-kilogram) Falcon Eye 1 spacecraft into a near-circular sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 379 miles (611 kilometers).

The Vega launcher fired off its launch pad with some 680,000 pounds of thrust and turned north to place the Falcon Eye 1 payload into the targeted polar orbit. The mission was expected to last 57 minutes from liftoff through deployment of the Falcon Eye 1 spacecraft.

The light-class Vega rocket is one of three launchers operated by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center, alongside the medium-lift Russian-made Soyuz launcher and the heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket.

Buoyed by a flawless record going into Wednesday night’s mission, the Vega rocket has found a niche in launching Earth observation satellites for European governments and foreign customers. Before Wednesday night’s failure, the Vega rocket was 14-for-14, having launched satellites to monitor the environment, study Earth’s climate and test new space technologies.

In partnership with ESA, Avio is developing an upgraded Vega rocket named the Vega C for an inaugural launch next year. The Vega C will use more powerful solid-fueled motors, replacing the basic Vega’s P80 first stage with a bigger P120 rocket motor, and introducing the larger Zefiro 40 second stage in place of the Zefiro 23.

The Falcon Eye 1 spacecraft was encapsulated inside the payload fairing of its Vega launcher June 26. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon

The liquid-fueled fourth stage on the Vega C is based on the upper stage currently flying on the Vega launcher, but features lighter structural components and larger propellant tanks. The Vega C will be able to loft around 4,850 pounds (2,200 kilograms) of payload mass into a 435-mile-high (700-kilometer) sun-synchronous orbit, nearly 50 percent more capability than the current Vega rocket configuration.

Avio says the Vega C will cost about the same as the current Vega rocket — around $35 million to $40 million, according to U.S. government estimates — reflecting a reduction on a cost-per-kilogram basis. The development of the Vega C is funded in a cost-sharing arrangement between ESA and Avio.

Arianespace has signed contracts with customers to fill at least nine more Vega and Vega C launches after Wednesday’s failed mission, according to previous statements by the company. Some of the satellites booked to fly on future Vega rockets will launch on multi-payload rideshare missions, and officials have not announced firm payload assignments for many of the flights.

In addition to the firm backlog, ESA and European member states have committed more unspecified government missions to launch on the Vega C in the early 2020s.

One of the Vega launches in Arianespace’s backlog is slated to deliver the UAE’s Falcon Eye 2 satellite to orbit, an identical spacecraft to the payload lost Wednesday night.

Airbus Defense and Space built the Falcon Eye satellites, and Thales Alenia Space provided the high-resolution optical imaging payloads for both spacecraft under a contract valued at roughly 800 million euros, or about $1.1 billion at 2013 exchange rates.

The agreement between the UAE and French industry was brokered with the backing of the French government, but a security review by the U.S. government delayed the final signature of the contract between the UAE, Airbus and Thales until 2014. The satellites use some U.S.-made components, prompting the Obama administration to put a temporary hold on the deal until officials ultimately approved the export of the U.S. parts for use by the UAE military.

The Falcon Eye satellites are based on the French Pleiades Earth-imaging satellites launched in 2011 and 2012, and reportedly have a resolution of about 2.3 feet, or 70 centimeters, in their highest-resolution imaging mode.

The status of the next Vega flight, which was scheduled for Sept. 10 with 42 small satellites on-board, is uncertain after Wednesday night’s launch failure.

Arianespace’s next mission is an Ariane 5 launch from French Guiana scheduled for July 24. The Ariane 5 is set to launch with the Intelsat 39 communications satellite and the EDRS-C spacecraft, the first dedicated satellite for the European Data Relay System developed by Airbus and the European Space Agency.


https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/07/11/uae-military-satellite-lost-in-vega-launch-failure/

UAE should have rather come to India for satellite launching.

 

[Philip the Arab]

Considering the access it has to Pakistan; the GCC could have invested in SLV and launch station in the area.

That would avoid the intra country rivalries of the GCC but give them a common launch point.

Now however, the option would be to skip Europe and invest with ISRO and work off their launch system. The Indians for all their connections will not be prone to sabotage and will generally meet their commitments.

Saudi Arabia paid for ballistic missile TOT from Ukraine.

UAE should have rather come to India for satellite launching.

Why? What does India have to offer over Europe?

 

[The SC]

UAE should have rather come to India for satellite launching.

The satellite was a very sophisticated and secret one, made in Europe.. so it was logical to be sent from Europe.. but the UAE should have known better.. maybe sending it from Ukraine or Russia or even India as you said would have been better.. but only if it was not a EU package.. making and launching.. included in the price.. So the real thing is about the time..then number 2 will be called number one and one ..number two..The best though is if the UAE has gotten its full TOT (which i think is the case..).. then, nothing else really matters..

 

[Arulmozhi Varman]

Is there warranty on events like this? Who pays for the problem and replacing the satellite?

Every launch vehicle and satellites must buy prior insurance from companies before they are launched. Only secret military launches are free from insurances. For this instance some insurance company will pay them the total cost.

Lol European satelittes have a much better track record than Indian satelittes. This is its first fail after 14 launches.

Actually in this count he is right. PSLV XL can launch around 2300kgs and its track record is 2 failure, 1 partial failure in 49 launches with the first failure during its first ever development flight. And its even more cheaper than Vega.

India has already launched small scale UAE satellites and is also assisting them set up space centres. The reason they are going with Vega is the satellite is sourced from Airbus, incorporating the best of French Technology. Its kinda quid pro pro which is understandable from a strategic point of view.

 

[Philip the Arab]

Every launch vehicle and satellites must buy prior insurance from companies before they are launched. Only secret military launches are free from insurances. For this instance some insurance company will pay them the total cost.



Actually in this count he is right. PSLV XL can launch around 2300kgs and its track record is 2 failure, 1 partial failure in 49 launches with the first failure during its first ever development flight. And its even more cheaper than Vega.

India has already launched small scale UAE satellites and is also assisting them set up space centres. The reason they are going with Vega is the satellite is sourced from Airbus, incorporating the best of French Technology. Its kinda quid pro pro which is understandable from a strategic point of view.

We really shouldn't use Indian products tbh to keep close relations with Pakistan. I prefer working with Pakistan and 11 Arab nations and getting Pakistan to develop a space rocket, and giving TOT to Arab states in exchange for funding of the space launcher coming from us.

India received a lot of rocket tech from Russia also. Did you consider this?

 

[God Parshuram]

Why? What does India have to offer over Europe

Lower cost and reliability.

 

[Goku]

We really shouldn't use Indian products tbh to keep close relations with Pakistan. I prefer working with Pakistan and 11 Arab nations and getting Pakistan to develop a space rocket, and giving TOT to Arab states in exchange for funding of the space launcher coming from us.

India received a lot of rocket tech from Russia also. Did you consider this?

Its right u shouldn't , keep using European services which are expensive while Russian, Chinese and even Indian launches are cheap Saudi Arabia and UAE have good relations with India and India is Jordans 4th largest trading partner. Even i would like to keep relations with Jordan limited as their isnt much potential to begin with. While India's focus is on Saudi Arabia , UAE , Qatar and Iran