This photo provided by the European Space Agency (ESA), shows the medium-lift VS07 Soyuz rocket lifting off from its launching pad in Kourou, French Guiana, on Aug. 22, 2014.PARIS – European space officials say they’re investigating whether the inaccurate deployment of two satellites will complicate their efforts to develop a new Galileo satellite navigation system that would rival America’s GPS network.
The European Space Agency and launch company Arianespace say the satellites ended up in off-target orbits after being launched Friday from Kourou, French Guiana, aboard a Soyuz rocket.
Saturday’s agency statement did not explain whether their orbital paths could be corrected. Arianespace said the satellites settled into a lower, elliptical orbit instead of the circular one intended, and initial analyses suggested the mishap occurred during the flight phase and involved the Fregat upper stage of Soyuz.
“Our aim is of course to fully understand this anomaly,” Stephane Israel, Arianespace chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “While it is too early to determine the exact causes, we would like to offer our sincere excuses to ESA and the European Commission for this orbital injection that did not meet expectations.”
Israel said Arianespace along with customer ESA and the Commission will create an independent panel to investigate what caused the inaccurate deployment and to develop corrective actions so Soyuz launches can resume.