Technical issue delays Sentinel-1B mission
KOUROU, French Guiana — After two delays due to unacceptable weather conditions, the third launch attempt of the Soyuz STA carrying the Sentinel-1B mission was called off about 45 minutes prior to liftoff due to a technical issue on the booster.
According to Stephane Israel, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, the Soyuz rocket’s Inertial Measurement Unit experienced an anomaly.
“Stop for tonight,” Israel tweeted, “Work in progress to confirm launch tomorrow.”
An anomaly has occured on the SYZ Inertial Measurement Unit. Stop for tonight. Work in progress to confirm launch tomorrow.
— Stéphane Israël (@arianespaceceo) April 24, 2016
This was the third scrub in as many days for the vehicle and its payload. Liftoff had originally been scheduled for 6:02:13 p.m. GFT (5:02:13 p.m. EDT) Friday, April 22. After a 24-hour scrub due to bad weather, another attempt was planned for the next day at the same time. It too was scrubbed, this time due to upper level winds. Both weather-related scrubs occurred before the vehicle began fueling.
A new launch date will be set once mission teams determine the nature of the anomaly.
Tune into SpaceFlight Insider’s Mission Monitor for images from the launch site and for live coverage provided by the European Space Agency.
Derek Richardson
Derek Richardson has a degree in mass media, with an emphasis in contemporary journalism, from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. While at Washburn, he was the managing editor of the student run newspaper, the Washburn Review. He also has a website about human spaceflight called Orbital Velocity.
