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Ultrasonic waves are generated through a composite material by means of a noncontact technique. It uses a Nd:Yag LASER for the generation and an interferometric probe for the detection of acoustic waveforms. From a suitable set of experimental data, an inversion scheme is used for the recovering of four stiffness coefficients. They characterize the elasticity in a principal plane of symmetry of the material which exhibits an orthorhombic symmetry. The measurements are performed at various temperatures, elevated by steps up to 300°C for two specimen. The sensitivity of the method appears convenient to measure the temperature induced stiffness changes. The anisotropic degradation of the material properties are then pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]