More on Rosetta

trumpetplayer writes "Rosetta has had an interesting week. The investigation into the Ariane 5 ESCA failure firstly cleared the mission for launch, then cancelled it. The spacecraft will now have to be dismantled and returned for Kourou. This will be a complex affair, as the propulsion system had been filled with MMH/NTO, and was not designed to be emptied!"

Comments

Re:The article doesn't say the launch was cancelle

[FlexAgain]

It looks like a launch can happen on Jan 22, Jan 23, Jan 26, or Jan 29.

The later article did say it was postponed, and it has been, probably for a year or more. This will make it impossible to get to Wirtanen, so another comet will need to be selected. This will probably mean delaying the launch well past the 12 months point.

See Rosetta Launch Postponed and ESA Press Release.