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Arianespace Flight 157: Appointment of the Inquiry Board

Evry, France, December 16, 2002 - Following the anomaly observed 
during Flight 157 on Wednesday, December 11, Arianespace has decided 
-- in cooperation with the European Space Agency and French CNES space 
agency -- to create an inquiry board with the following duties:

(a) To establish the causes of the anomaly observed during Flight 157 
- Ariane 5 ECA (the "10-ton" Ariane 5),

(b) To determine the eventual consequences of the anomaly on 
operations of basic Ariane 5 versions, in particular on preparations 
for the upcoming launch with the Rosetta deep space probe, and

(c) To recommend measures to be taken to correct the problems 
observed.

The inquiry board will be composed of the following members:

- Wolfgang Koschel, chairman,
- Michel Courtois,
- Fabrizio Felici,
- Rémy Hergott,
- Robert Laine

The inquiry board will submit its final report to Arianespace on 
Monday, January 6, 2003.

As is the practice in such situations, and to preserve the 
independence and judgment of the inquiry board, Arianespace and its 
partners will abstain from providing any information on this subject 
until the inquiry board submits its final report.

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