The launch date for Rosetta, ESA’s mission to a comet, has been delayed by a few days.
The inquiry board appointed by Arianespace, the European Space Agency, and CNES (France’s National Space Agency) to investigate the anomaly observed during Flight 157 on 11 December 2002 is continuing to examing the potential impact on preparations for the forthcoming Rosetta mission.
The inquiry board will submit its final report to Arianespace on Monday 6 January 2003. Until then, all irreversible operations involved in the Rosetta launch have been suspended. This will result in a launch postponement of several days beyond the targeted date of Sunday 12 January 2003. A new launch date will be announced on Saturday 11 January 2003.
