One of the two large half-shells for Ariane 5’s payload fairing is unloaded from the MN Colibri at Pariacabo Port in French Guiana for transportation to the nearby Spaceport.

Elements for the latest Ariane 5 were delivered this week by the MN Colibri, which is one of two sea-going roll-on/roll-off cargo ships used by Arianespace in transporting launchers to its South American base of operations.

Ariane 5’s flight in June will orbit EchoStar XVII, a high-throughput satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for Hughes Network Systems, along with the Meteosat Second Generation-3 (MSG-3) meteorological spacecraft, manufactured by Thales Alenia Space for EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).

Components carried aboard MN Colibri for the Ariane 5 mission included the launcher’s main cryogenic stage; its upper composite section – composed of the cryogenic upper stage and vehicle equipment bay; the SYLDA dual-satellite dispenser system, plus related integration hardware; and the payload fairing.

The manufacturers of these launcher elements represent a cross-section of Ariane 5’s European industrial team, including Astrium in France, Germany and Madrid; as well as RUAG Space in Switzerland.

Arianespace’s flight in June with EchoStar XVII and MSG-3 will be designated VA207, signifying the 207th flight of an Ariane family launcher.  It will be the third Ariane 5 mission in 2012, following the liftoff of VA205 this Friday, March 23, with Europe’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle; and the VA206 flight, scheduled for mid-May with Japan’s JCSAT-13 broadcasting/communications satellite and the VINASAT-2 telecommunications relay spacecraft for Vietnam.