A MIX-UP over plugs caused the accident in May which killed two men at the Ariane-5 launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, says the French space agency (CNES).
The agency鈥檚 inquiry found that the two French technicians suffocated when nitrogen gas leaked into a confined area of the launch pad which they were inspecting before a test of the rocket鈥檚 cryogenic motor.
The nitrogen came from a nitrogen-iced water heat exchanger which had a drainage plug missing. The agency says it had been removed three days earlier, having been mistaken for other plugs on nearby exchangers which were supposed to be removed during the test.
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According to the CNES, the mistake arose from a 鈥渕isinterpretation鈥� of a blueprint of the site鈥檚 circuitry. It says the accident was caused by an unfortunate chain of events. The first launch of the rocket has been delayed until January.