Ariane 5 handled a complex mission with ease on March 2, placing the European Space Agency’s Rosetta deep-space probe on its way to an intercept of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Lifting off in the early morning hours at the first of two precise launch times, the Ariane 5 flew an unusual profile that involved the delayed ignition of its EPS upper stage.
Flight 158 was the 14th commercial Ariane 5 mission performed under Arianespace management.
See the Mission Update and press release on the Arianespace Web site http://www.arianespace.com for more details on this successful launch.