European rocket launch fails minutes after launch, loses both satellites

Team Udayavani, Nov 17, 2020, 6:00 PM IST

A European space rocket failed minutes after taking off, losing both the satellites it was carrying, its operator Arianespace said on Tuesday.

The Vega light launcher, which would’ve placed Spain’s first satellite into orbit, malfunctioned approximately eight minutes after launching from a space centre in Kourou, French Guiana. The launcher slowed before it encountered an unidentified “anomaly”.

According to WION, Vega was supposed to place two satellites, both of which were lost during the mission around 700 kilometres (435 miles) from Earth.

The mission would have launched Spain’s first Earth observation satellite for the European Space Agency (ESA). It would also have placed into orbit Taranis, a French satellite that would have observed extremely bright electrical phenomena in the planet’s upper atmosphere.