Galileo story of a fiasco – The World

Galileo story of a fiasco – The World

World | 08/10/2014 11:59 • Updated 08/10/2014 to 2:48 p.m. | By Dominique Gallois

A simple question piping. Six weeks after the fiasco of the Galileo mission on August 22, the mystery is lifted. The launch of the first two operational satellites of the European GPS failed

after the gel fuel into the Fregat upper of the Russian Soyuz rocket that carried upstairs, as revealed The World 2 October. The pipe feeding the hydrazine thrusters was in contact with the one in which circulating helium at very low temperatures, causing an icy heat exchange.

There is a misconception that be corrected. These are the findings made public Tuesday, October 7 through independent commission of inquiry set up following the failure. The position of these experts was the more expected as assumptions more or less alarmist circulating. They ranged from single incident to the accident, through the act of malice or lack of quality to justify the failure of the symbolic launch. This shot allowed the Europeans to become autonomous from Americans for navigation. All in a tense situation with the Russians because of the Ukrainian conflict.

Friday, August 22 to 14 hours, it is time to celebrate. A cocktail is offered to hundreds of guests from Kourou, French Guiana, attend the launch of the Russian rocket. After three and a half hour flight, Soyuz successfully launched the first operational satellites in the Galileo constellation, according to information coming from Moscow, where data are collected from the launcher. Before the cameras a …