Posted: Fri, Jun 8, 2001, 10:28 AM ET (1428 GMT)
Poor weather conditions led Arianespace to scrub Friday morning's scheduled launch of an Intelsat communications satellite. An Ariane 44L was scheduled to lift off at 2:44 am EDT (0644 GMT), carrying the Intelsat 901 satellite. However, high upper-altitude winds forced flight controllers to delay the launch at least a day. A decision will be made later Friday whether to make another launch attempt Saturday morning. Intelsat 901 will be used to replace an existing communications satellite over the Atlantic Ocean, providing coverage over the Atlantic and portions of Europe. The launch will be the first for Arianespace since an Ariane 5 launched two communications satellites three months ago.

Related Links:

•  AFP article about launch delay
•  Arianespace