Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Travel News .




LAUNCH PAD
The numbers add up in Arianespace's latest commercial launch success with Ariane 5
by Staff Writers
Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) May 18, 2012


For the 62nd liftoff of an Ariane 5 since its introduction, the vehicle's delivery capabilities were confirmed once again - with the following estimated orbital parameters at the cryogenic upper stage's injection: - Perigee: 250.2 km. for a target of 250.0 km. - Apogee: 35,927 km. for a target of 35,909 km. - Inclination: 1.97 deg. for a target of 2.00 deg.

Arianespace provided another on-time Ariane 5 launch tonight by orbiting a pair of telecommunications spacecraft at the service of Asian region operators, on a mission that included multiple numerical milestones for the company and its customers.

Lifting off from the Spaceport in French Guiana, Arianespace's heavy-lift workhorse delivered the JCSAT-13 and VINASAT-2 relay platforms into geostationary transfer orbits on the 48th consecutive success for Ariane 5.

The two passengers lofted on the latest mission were the 100th and 101st commercial geostationary communications satellites from Lockheed Martin Space Systems, as well as the 42nd and 43rd platforms from this U.S. spacecraft manufacturer launched by Arianespace. Both relay platforms are similar in overall configuration, as they are based on Lockheed Martin's A2100 spacecraft platform design.

According to Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall, this flight also enabled his company to surpass the 300th mark for the total number of primary satellite passengers launched in its operations from French Guiana - a count that does not include some 50 additional auxiliary or secondary payloads.

Le Gall also noted the mission continues a 23-year relationship of Japan's SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation with Arianespace, which began in 1989 when JCSAT-1 was orbited on an Ariane 4. With tonight's flight, JCSAT-13 become the 27th satellite that Japanese operators have entrusted to commercial launch services with the Ariane family of vehicles.

JCSAT-13 is to be positioned in geostationary orbit at 124 deg. East, providing direct TV broadcast links to all of Japan as a replacement satellite for JCSAT-4A, and its capacity will meet satellite relay coverage demands in Southeast Asia. Weighing nearly 4,530 kg. at launch, JCSAT-13 is equipped with 44 Ku-band transponders and has a design life exceeding 15 years.

VINASAT-2 is the second satellite launched by Arianespace for operation by the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, and follows the lofting of VINASAT-1 on an Ariane 5 flight in April 2008. Equipped with 24 Ku-band transponders to handle radio, television and telephone links for all of Vietnam, VINASAT-2 had a liftoff mass of approximately 2,970 kg. and will operate from an orbital position at 131.8 deg. East during a design lifetime of 15-plus years.

"This was a very beautiful flight," commented Joe Rickers, the President of Commercial Systems at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, in a speech at the launch control center. "I want to congratulate Arianespace and Jean-Yves Le Gall, along with all those [at the Spaceport] who support the launches: your record of success speaks for itself."

For the 62nd liftoff of an Ariane 5 since its introduction, the vehicle's delivery capabilities were confirmed once again - with the following estimated orbital parameters at the cryogenic upper stage's injection: - Perigee: 250.2 km. for a target of 250.0 km. - Apogee: 35,927 km. for a target of 35,909 km. - Inclination: 1.97 deg. for a target of 2.00 deg.

Arianespace is keeping up the Ariane 5 launch pace this year, with this being the second heavy-lift launch of 2012 will be followed by the next flight on June 19. In the upcoming dual-payload mission, the workhorse will carry the Space Systems/Loral-produced EchoStar XVII high-throughput telecommunications platform for Hughes Network Systems, along with the Meteosat Second Generation-3 (MSG-3) weather satellite for EUMETSAT that was built by a Thales Alenia Space-led industry consortium.

.


Related Links
Arianespace
Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








LAUNCH PAD
Ariane 5 mission with twin telecommunications satellites approved for launch
Kourou, French Guiana (SPX) May 17, 2012
The Ariane 5 mission with a "mirror" pair of relay satellites for Japan and Vietnam has been given the go-ahead for liftoff on May 15 from the Spaceport in French Guiana. Approval for this flight was issued following the launch readiness review, which is held prior to every Ariane missiona - confirming the "green" status of the Ariane 5 vehicle, its JCSAT-13 and VINASAT-2 satellites, the S ... read more


LAUNCH PAD
SpaceX readies ambitious ISS launch

Japan in first commercial satellite launch

The numbers add up in Arianespace's latest commercial launch success with Ariane 5

ILS Proton Launches Telesat's Nimiq 6 Satellite

LAUNCH PAD
Opportunity Rolling Again After Fifth Mars Winter

Mojave Desert Tests Prepare for NASA Mars Roving

Mars Opportunity Rover Is A Go For More Travel

WSU air-quality researcher to lead field studies in support of NASA Mars mission

LAUNCH PAD
Perigee "Super Moon" On May 5-6

India's second moon mission Chandrayaan-2 to wait

European Google Lunar X Prize Teams Call For Science Payloads

Russia to Send Manned Mission to Moon by 2030

LAUNCH PAD
Beyond Pluto And Exploring the Kuiper Belt

Uranus auroras glimpsed from Earth

Herschel images extrasolar analogue of the Kuiper Belt

New Horizons on Approach: 22 AU Down, Just 10 to Go

LAUNCH PAD
Cosmic dust rings no guarantee of planets

In search of new 'Earths' beyond our Solar System

Free-floating planets in the Milky Way outnumber stars by factors of thousands

Unseen planet revealed by its gravity

LAUNCH PAD
XCOR Announces Lynx Suborbital Flight Winner

Ball Aerospace Submits Solar Electric Propulsion Concept to NASA

IRVE-3 Flight Hardware Test

Marshall Completes Wind Tunnel Testing For Dream Chaser Space System

LAUNCH PAD
China's space women wait for blast-off

Shenzhou 9 to be ready for mid-June launch?

China confirms plans to build own orbital station

Building a Heavenly Palace in outer space

LAUNCH PAD
NASA Survey Counts Potentially Hazardous Asteroids

NASA Dawn Spacecraft Reveals Secrets of Large Asteroid

NASA trains astronauts to land on asteroid

Amateur astronomers boost ESA's asteroid hunt




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement