New Launch Date for Rosetta
By Staff Writer | June 2, 2003
Having been delayed due to problems with the Ariane 5 rocket, the launch of the Rosetta comet exploration spacecraft is back on track. The spacecraft will be launched in February 2004 from Kourou, French Guiana, using an Ariane 5 G+ launcher.
Because of the delay, the target comet has been changed. Rosetta will now rendezvous with Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko instead of Comet Wirtanen, the European Space Agency announced last week. The rendezvous with the new comet is expected in November 2014. The cost of the Rosetta launch delay is estimated at round 70 million euros (US$83 million).