May 31 1986
From The Space Library
Another setback for Western launch capability occurred as an Ariane rocket was destroyed by ground controllers 4 minutes and 36 seconds after liftoff in French Guiana, when its third stage failed to ignite. Also lost was an INTELSAT V communications satellite; it was the third time failure in the rockets had occurred for that reason. Arianespace, a French company that sold space on the rocket, was in fierce competition with NASA for multimillion-dollar commercial contracts, but ceded its monopoly when forced to postpone future flights while the accident was being investigated. With the grounding of the U.S. space program, western nations were left with the Ariane rocket as the only means to place commercial satellites into space. (LA Herald, Jun 1/86; CSM, Jun 16/86)
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