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Nature 420, 723 (19 December 2002) | doi:10.1038/420723a
ESA weighs up future after Ariane explosion
David Adam
It was intended to be a show of strength, but after the spectacular failure of the new 'heavy-lifter' Ariane rocket, the only thing hoisted into space by the European Space Agency (ESA) last week was a weighty doubt over its future in the launch business.Faced with a grim record of 4 failures from just 14 Ariane 5 launches, some observers were starting to ask if Europe's 25-year-old rocket programme is more trouble than it's worth.
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