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Paris, France (SPX) May 21, 2010 Arianespace's Ariane 5 mission with the ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2 satellite payloads is on track for a liftoff tomorrow evening, following the heavy-lift vehicle's rollout to the launch zone at the Spaceport in French Guiana this morning. Riding atop its mobile launch table, Ariane 5 emerged from the Final Assembly Building under a sunny French Guiana sky and was transferred to the launch pad to be secured in place. This flight will mark another of Arianespace's missions with a mixed civilian/military payload, as ASTRA 3B is to provide direct-to-home (DTH) services, plus public and private satellite communications for SES ASTRA; while COMSATBw-2 will serve as a secure relay spacecraft for the delivery of key telecommunications capacity to Germany's armed forces. Lift performance for the Ariane 5 ECA will be more than 9,110 kg., including approximately 7,970 kg. for the two spacecraft passengers, plus the mass of the vehicle's dual-passenger dispenser system and satellite integration hardware. ASTRA 3B is riding in the upper position of the launcher's payload "stack" and will be deployed at just under 28 minutes into the flight, with COMSATBw-2 located below it in the SYLDA 5 dispenser for a separation at 33 minutes after liftoff.
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Related Links Arianespace Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com
Ariane 5's Liftoff With ASTRA 3B And COMSATBw-2 Is Set For May 21Kourou, French Guiana (SPX) May 19, 2010 Arianespace's next heavy-lift Ariane 5 mission is scheduled for this Friday, May 21, carrying a mixed payload of commercial and military telecommunications satellites. Liftoff of the Ariane 5 ECA with its ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2 spacecraft is set at the start of a launch window that opens at 7:01 p.m. local time in French Guiana and continues to 7:44 p.m. ASTRA 3B is riding in the up ... read more |
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