GOCE team gearing up for new launch date

ESA and European industries have updated the planning of the preparatory activities for a new tentative launch date of 27 October 2008 for the GOCE satellite. On 7 September, preparatory activities for the launch of GOCE from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia were stopped by Eurockot due to an anomaly identified in one of the units of the guidance and navigation subsystem of the launcher's Upper Stage Breeze KM.

Russian launcher authorities are completing the investigation of the Breeze KM failure and implementing the related corrective measures. The remaining activities on the launcher side and the subsequent combined operations with the satellite have led to a calculated launch date of Monday, 27 October 2008 at 15:21 CET.

Awaiting the final outcome of the failure investigations and the replacement of the affected units, the GOCE team has begun preparatory activities in line with the proposed launch date.

Source: European Space Agency