Ariane Space Plans Halt
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<i> United Press International</i>
KOUROU, French Guiana — The Ariane space program was grounded indefinitely today after an Ariane 4 rocket carrying two Japanese satellites suffered a power loss seconds after liftoff and blew up in a $430-million fireball.
Officials with Arianespace, the European consortium that markets Ariane boosters, said a board of inquiry will be named next week to investigate Thursday’s spectacular failure, the fifth in 36 Ariane launches. In the meantime, flights will be halted for at least two months and possibly longer.
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