The Arianespace heavy-lift Ariane 5 mission with telecommunications satellites for two leading Asia-Pacific operators received the "green light" for its Thursday liftoff from the Spaceport in French Guiana.

Carrying Malaysian-based MEASAT's MEASAT-3b in the upper position under Ariane 5's fairing and Optus 10 for Australia's Optus as the lower passenger, this mission further underscores Arianespace's leadership position in the Asia-Pacific - with the company having launched two-thirds of the region's commercial geostationary telecommunications satellites since its 1980 founding.

Approval was issued following the launch readiness review, which is held prior to every Ariane 5 mission to confirm the heavy-lift vehicle and its dual-passenger payload are flight-ready, along with verifying Spaceport infrastructure and the downrange tracking system.

With this step in pre-launch preparations complete, Ariane 5 is now cleared for rollout to the launch zone tomorrow - to be followed by Flight VA218's liftoff on September 11 during an approximately one-hour launch window that opens at 6:21 p.m. local time in French Guiana.

As the third satellite to be launched for MEASAT by Arianespace, the Airbus Defence and Space-built MEASAT-3b will provide direct-to-home broadcasting and VSAT (very small aperture terminal) services across Malaysia, India, Indonesia and Australia.

Built by SSL (Space Systems Loral), Optus 10 - the sixth spacecraft the company is lofting for Optus - will offer direct TV broadcast, Internet connectivity, telephone and data transmission services for Australia, New Zealand and the Antarctic region.

Thursday's mission - designated Flight VA218 in the company's numbering system - will be the fourth Ariane 5 liftoff from the Spaceport this year and the 75th launch of this heavy-lift workhorse, which has performed 60 successful flights in a row.

Al Yah 3 satellite to be launched by Arianespace
Meanwhile, Arianespace has been chosen to orbit the Al Yah 3 telecommunications satellite, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, for the operator Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJSC (Yahsat).

Arianespace will launch the Al Yah 3 satellite into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) in the fourth quarter of 2016, using an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

After Yahsat Y1A launched in April 2011, Al Yah 3 will be the second satellite entrusted to Arianespace by Yahsat.

Al Yah 3 will be built by Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia, and will weigh about 3,500 kg at launch. Operating solely in the Ka-band, Al Yah 3 will provide broadband Internet services at affordable prices to nearly 600 million users in Brazil and Africa. It offers a design life of 15 years.

Al Yah 3 will be the 28th satellite built by Orbital to be launched by Arianespace.

Arianespace to launch Koreasat 7 for South Korean operator KTsat
KTsat has chosen Arianespace to launch its next telecommunications satellite, Koreasat 7, the third satellite from the South Korean operator to be launched by Arianespace.

The Koreasat 7 satellite will be boosted into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) by an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, in 2016.

Koreasat is the third satellite that Arianespace will have launched for KTsat, following Koreasat 3 in 1999 and Koreasat 6 in 2010. Arianespace launched another Korean satellite in 2010, COMS, a multimission spacecraft for the Korean space agency, KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute).

Koreasat 7 will be built by Thales Alenia Space. Weighing about 3,500 kg at launch, and offering payload power of approximately 7kW, Koreasat-7 will be fitted with Ku and Ka-band transponders. Its coverage zone will include Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia and India. Positioned at 113 East, Koreasat 7 will provide broadcasting and telecommunications services.

Commenting on this latest contract, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Stephane Israel said: "I would like to thank the operator KTsat for having once again chosen Arianespace, confirming the quality and competitiveness of our launch services. Their selection also reflects the mutual trust that has been established between our two companies over the last 15 years. Arianespace is committed to offering top-flight service to KTsat."