Launch Date Slips for Europe's First Venus Probe

Posted on: Oct. 23rd, 2005 || Source: space.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

The launch of Europe’s first Venus probe has been delayed after pad workers found signs of contamination atop the spacecraft’s Russian-built rocket, the European Space Agency (ESA) said Friday.

Originally set to launch on Oct. 26, the Venus Express spacecraft will be pushed back “several days” while pad workers remove the probe from its fairing during a series of checks and inspections, ESA officials said in a statement.

The mission has a launch window that extends through November 24, they added.

Built for ESA by France’s EADS Astrium, Venus Express is set to ride a Soyuz rocket equipped with Fregat upper stage into space in a launch to be staged from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch will begin a more than five-month spaceflight to the second planet in the Solar System.

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