TWO satellites are scrambling to get into the correct orbits after the rocket carrying them lost contact with Earth, causing it to offload them in the wrong place.
The initial launch of the Ariane 5 rocket on 25 January from Europe鈥檚 Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana went well, but less than 10 minutes after lift-off it stopped communicating with operators at ground stations. In a , French firm Arianespace blamed this on a 鈥渢rajectory deviation鈥�, but it isn鈥檛 yet clear what caused the deviation.
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The rocket transported two satellites into orbit: the SES-14 carrying NASA instruments to observe Earth鈥檚 upper atmosphere, and Al Yah 3, a United Arab Emirates satellite set to provide broadband communications to much of Africa and Brazil.
The rocket released both, but they are circling Earth on the wrong paths. Operators confirmed the satellites are intact and will use their thrusters to make a course correction, though their operations will be delayed.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淪atellite double trouble鈥�
