2023-04-14 14:51:53
It could not be on the first attempt, but it has been achieved on the second. The rocket Ariane 5 has taken off at 2:15 p.m. this Friday, April 14, and the juice mission has put heading to Jupiter and its 3 icy moons from the Kourou base in French Guiana.
Behind the “code red” that this Thursday stopped the launch with only 10 minutes notice, today it was time to try again. All eyes were on the sky, in the previous day, although the wind gusts were strong, they were within normal parameters, however, the risk of lightning strikes was what stopped the takeoff. So much the Ariane 5 rocket as the Juice probe remained in perfect condition.
The alignment had to be perfect between the target target and the launch in order to hit the target. correct trajectory and save fuel; If it was not achieved today, it would continue trying every day at a similar time until the end of the month.
The explanation of what happened this Thursday was given by Director General of Arianespace, Stéphane Israël: “The most important thing when taking off is to be sure that all the parameters are green. Juice was ok, the pitcher was ok, but at the final check the time was not ok.”
This will be the journey of Juice
Juice’s journey will be a long journey that will last for 8 years and in which you will need to do several gravity assists because the path is far from straight.
The first of these gravity assists it is scheduled for August of next year when it will approach the Earth and the Moon; in 2025 it will need the boost from Venus, and between 2026 and 2029 twice as much from Earth.
In July 2031, the arrival of this probe is scheduled to weigh about 6 tons and whose mission has to face high radiation, extreme temperatures, strong magnetic fields and low light.
The mission is designed to detect places around Jupiter or inside the icy moons where the necessary conditions exist to support life and not so much to detect it. Juice will become the first spacecraft to orbit a moon other than our own.
Callisto, Europa and Ganymede are the 3 icy moons under whose crusts it is believed that there may be oceans of liquid water. ESA has dedicated 1.6 billion euros.
Watch the time of launch and undock here again.
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