THE SOFTWARE HORROR PICTURE SHOW

Ariane 5 Rocket Explosion, 1996

Ariane 5 rocket was launched by the European Space Agency and exploded 40 seconds after lift-off. The cause of the failure was a software error in the inertial reference system. The development cost of the rocket amounted to $7 billions.

 


Several Sources:

www.math.psu.edu/dna/disasters/ariane.html
www.around.com/ariane.html
www.esa.int/export/esaCP/Pr_33_1996_p_EN.html
ravel.esrin.esa.it/docs/esa-x-1819eng.pdf
www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAAXK7708D_index_0.html
www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESA7198708D_Expanding_0.html
www.cnn.com/TECH/9710/30/ariane.launch/
www.math.psu.edu/dna/455.f96/disasters.html
archive.eiffel.com/doc/manuals/technology/contract/ariane/page.html
www.nature.com/nsu/000323/000323-2.html