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October 30: yes, it took off! See e.g. the CNN page, with more links. Congratulations to the European Space Agency!

Oct. 29, 1997

New Ariane launch a success

The story

The new launch of the European Space Agency's Ariane 5 launcher is currently scheduled for Thursday, October 30, 1997, from the Kuru spatial base in French Guiana.

Our comment

The initial June 1996 launch failed because of a software error. A widely discussed article by Jean-Marc Jézéquel and Bertrand Meyer, initially published in IEEE Computer and available on this site, analyzed the reasons for that error and how applying principles of Design by Contract can help avoid similar problems in the future.

We are pretty confident things will work out right this time, and extend our very best wishes to the Ariane team.

Of related interest

Technology paper: Design by Contract: The Lessons of Ariane.

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