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An Arianespace Soyuz rocket successfully launched a new Earth observation satellite into orbit for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday, December 1.
The satellite, called FalconEye 2, took off from the Guyanese Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, at 8:33 p.m. EST (10:33 p.m. local time and 0133 GMT on Wednesday, December 2). The mission had been delayed for several months partly due to a rocket problem in early March, and partly due to the logistics associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The Sunday (November 29) and Monday (November 30) launch attempts were delayed due to lightning and data reception issues, respectively.
“The satellite is equipped with an Earth observation payload, with very high resolution optical capabilities and complemented by a ground system for the monitoring, reception and processing of images,” officials said. ‘Arianespace on FalconEye 2 in a press release.
“[FalconEye 2] will have a dual mission: to meet the needs of the UAE armed forces and to provide commercial imagery for the market, ”Arianespace added.
The launch was Arianespace’s eighth in 2020. Three of those missions were launched by Soyuz rockets, three by Ariane 5 boosters, and two by the smaller Vega rocket, one of which failed to reach l ‘orbit earlier this month.
FalconEye 2’s predecessor, FalconEye 1, was lost in another Vega launch failure, in July 2019. Within minutes of this take-off, Vega suffered a major anomaly, causing the loss of the rocket and FalconEye 1.
An investigation concluded that Vega’s second-stage engine likely caused the rocket to fail, according to results released in September 2019.
“The commission identified the most likely cause of the anomaly as a thermostructural failure in the front dome area of the Z23 engine,” European Space Agency officials wrote in a statement at the time. The Z23 engine is used in the second stage of the four-stage Vega, a rocket designed for small and medium-sized satellites.
Vega resumed flight this year with a successful launch in September before suffering another failure on November 16, which resulted in the loss of satellites for France and Spain. The latest incident is still under investigation.
FalconEye 2 was moved from a Vega rocket to a Soyuz rocket in early 2020, according to SpaceNews.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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