The UAE’s plans to develop a new generation of military surveillance capabilities suffered a setback on 11 July, when an Arianespace Vega rocket carrying its French-built Falcon Eye 1 satellite deviated from its course two minutes after launch and was lost. Arianespace said there had been a “launcher anomaly… leading to the premature end of the mission”. The launch had been postponed twice due to poor weather conditions and high winds over the French Guiana Space Centre in South America.
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