Arianespace Flight ATV launch rescheduled

In order to allow additional checks on the Automated Launch Vehicle Jules Verne, Arianespace and ESA have decided to postpone the launch by 24 hours. The launch is now scheduled during the night of Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 9, 2008:

GMT: 3:59 am on March 9, 2008.
PARIS: 4:59 am on March 9, 2008.
KOUROU: 0:59 am on March 9, 2008.
MOSCOW: 6:59 am on March 9, 2008.

Follow the launch live on the internet:
http://www.videocorner.tv/index.php?langue=en
Live webcasting starts 20 minutes before lift-off.
Video streaming will be available in RealMedia and WindowsMedia formats.

For its first mission of the year, Arianespace will launch the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), dubbed "Jules Verne", for the European Space Agency (ESA). Right from this first launch, the ATV will play a vital role in bringing supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
Weighing more than 20 tons, this will be by far the heaviest payload ever launched by Ariane 5. An Ariane 5ES will inject the Jules Verne ATV into a circular orbit at an altitude of 260 kilometers, inclined 51.6 degrees.

J. Martín Canales Romero
Operations Coordinator
ISS Flight Operations
Columbus Control Center