THE PLANNED 15 May maiden launch of Europe's Ariane 5 booster has been delayed. A new launch date is not expected until "late April", says the French Space Agency CNES, which is managing the launch at the Kourou launch site in French Guiana, and the European Space Agency (ESA), which is funding the first two development flights.
The delay has been caused by the longer than planned time taken to fit the Ariane 5's payload fairing. "Taking into account security and quality control requirements for the launch campaign", said the statement.
Source: Flight International