- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Scientists sound AI alarm after winning physics Nobel
- Nobel-winning physicist 'unnerved' by AI technology he helped create
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
Europe's access to space in jeopardy after Vega-C rocket failure
Flights of the new European Vega-C rocket have been suspended pending an investigation into an overnight launch failure, French firm Arianespace said Wednesday, leaving Europe with few avenues into space.
Just minutes after the Vega-C rocket lifted off from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 10:47 pm local time on Tuesday (0147 GMT Wednesday), its trajectory deviated from its programmed route and communications were lost, Arianespace said.
The order to destroy the launcher, which was carrying two satellites built by Airbus, was then given by French space agency CNES.
"The launcher fell down" into international waters in the Atlantic Ocean, Arianespace's chief technical officer Pierre-Yves Tissier told a press conference.
If successful, it would have been the first commercial launch -- and second overall -- for the Vega-C since its inaugural flight on July 13.
The rocket was launched over the Atlantic Ocean and had shot past 100 kilometres (62 miles) altitude and was more than 900 kilometres north of Kourou when the problem occurred.
Tissier said the "failure seems limited to Zephiro 40", the second stage of the launcher built for the Vega-C by Italian aerospace company Avio.
Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said the company took full responsibility for the failure.
The flight data was recovered and will now be analysed as part of an inquiry that will be co-led by the European Space Agency and Arianespace.
The independent commission aims to determine "the cause of the failure and to propose robust and long-lasting corrective actions to guarantee a safe and reliable return to flight of Vega-C," Arianespace chief executive Stephane Israel told the press conference.
- Latest Europe space setback -
The suspension leaves Europe with few options after numerous delays to the next-generation Ariane 6 rocket and cancelled Russian cooperation over the Ukraine war.
Just two launchers remain of the previous-generation Ariane 5, with the only other option being Vega-C's predecessor Vega.
Otherwise, Europe has no way to launch satellites into orbit or heavy payloads into space until Ariane 6's long-delayed inaugural flight planned for late 2023 -- or when Vega-C flights resume.
Israel said that "neither Ariane 5 or Ariane 6 are impacted by the failure that occurred".
The failure marks the latest setback for the European Space Agency (ESA), which is aiming to make Europe more competitive in the rapidly expanding satellite market.
Elon Musk, the CEO of US rival rocketmaker SpaceX, tweeted that he was "sorry to hear" of the failure.
"It is a sobering reminder of the difficulty of orbital space flight," he added.
The Vega-6 rocket had been trying to bring into orbit two Earth observation satellites built by European aerospace giant Airbus.
They were planned to join the Pleiades Neo constellation, which is capable of capturing very high-resolution images of any point on the globe several times a day.
The failure is a blow for Airbus, which developed the programme, whose services are sold to both companies and the military.
Satellites that bring in commercial revenue are usually insured. An industry insider said that the lost Pleiades Neo 5 and 6 satellites were covered for 220 million euros ($233 million), potentially allowing Airbus to build them again.
Airbus did not comment when contacted by AFP.
- Third failure in nine launches -
Tuesday's launch was originally scheduled for November 24.
However it was postponed due to a faulty piece of equipment linked to the payload fairing, a type of nose cone, Arianespace's CEO Israel told AFP, though the problem was not connected to Tuesday's failure.
Tuesday marked the third failure out of the last nine launches of Vega or Vega-C.
It is also a blow to Avio, which has been involved in three of those failed launches. Avio's share price plunged more than 9.5 percent on Wednesday.
As well as the Ariane 6 delays, Europe's space sector has been further weakened in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In the absence of an alternative, ESA has been forced to turn to SpaceX to launch two scientific missions.
gr-juc-mra-dl/gw
M.García--CPN