Following the anomaly observed during Flight 157 on Wednesday, December 11, Arianespace has decided — in cooperation with the European Space Agency and French CNES space agency — to create an inquiry board with the following duties:
(a) To establish the causes of the anomaly observed during Flight 157 – Ariane 5 ECA (the “10-ton” Ariane 5),
(b) To determine the eventual consequences of the anomaly on operations of basic Ariane 5 versions, in particular on preparations for the upcoming launch with the Rosetta deep space probe, and
(c) To recommend measures to be taken to correct the problems observed.
The inquiry board will be composed of the following members:
- Wolfgang Koschel, chairman,
- Michel Courtois,
- Fabrizio Felici,
- Rémy Hergott,
- Robert Laine
The inquiry board will submit its final report to Arianespace on Monday, January 6, 2003.
As is the practice in such situations, and to preserve the independence and judgment of the inquiry board, Arianespace and its partners will abstain from providing any information on this subject until the inquiry board submits its final report.
