Cluster History

The original fleet of four Cluster Spacecraft was destroyed by a failure of the launch vehicle on 04 June 1996. Following this accident, there was a proposal to use spares to produce a fifth spacecraft, Phoenix, for a possible single spacecraft mission. In April 1997, approval was given to build three more spacecraft which, together with Phoenix, will carry out the mission as originally intended.
 

Official Report on Cluster Launch Accident

From the loss of the original Cluster Mission to the new Cluster II Mission (from ESA Bulletin, text only)

Launch failure:  Images

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By Andrew Fazakerley
Last updated on 27/06/00  by S. Szita