Ariane Flight VA242

with DSN-1/Superbird-8 and HYLAS 4

overview

Payload(s)
DSN-1/Superbird-8, HYLAS 4
Launch vehicle
Ariane 5 ECA
Customer(s)
SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, Avanti Communications
Status
Success
Prime contractor(s)
NEC Corporation, Orbital ATK
Launch site
Spaceport, French Guiana (Guiana Space Center)
Orbit
Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)

mission
description

For its third launch of 2018, Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in French Guiana to launch the DSN-1/Superbird-8 and HYLAS 4 satellites for operators SKY Perfect JSAT and Avanti Communications.

With this 297<sup>th</sup> mission of its launcher family – the 242<sup>nd</sup> utilizing an Ariane launcher – Arianespace serves once again the ambitions of leading satellite operators, both globally and regionally.

Between 21:34 and 22:24 (Apr. 5)
Universal Time (UTC)
Between 6:34 p.m. and 7:24 p.m. (Apr. 5)
Kourou, French Guiana
Between 11:34 p.m. and 12:24 a.m. (Apr. 5/6)
Paris, France
Between 5:34 p.m. and 6:24 p.m. (Apr. 5)
Washington, D.C.

Payloads

DSN-1/Superbird-8

DSN-1/Superbird-8 will be the 19th SKY Perfect JSAT satellite assigned to Arianespace for launch. The most recent Arianespace launch for this operator was with JCSAT-15 in December 2016.

SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation is a leader in the converging fields of broadcasting and communications. It is Asia’s largest satellite operator with an operational fleet of 17 satellites. SKY Perfect JSAT is a provider of both multi-channel pay TV broadcasting and satellite communications services which also delivers a broad range of entertainment through the SKY PerfectTV! Platform, the most extensive in Japan with a total of 3 million subscribers.

Superbird-8 will carry high-performance Ku and Ka transponders and will provide satellite communications services mainly in the Japanese market. Located at 162 degrees East Longitude, it will replace the Superbird-B2 satellite launched in 2000 by Arianespace.

Superbird-8 was built by MELCO – Mitsubishi Electric Corporation- (with manufacturing management by NEC Corporation) using a DS2000 platform. It will be the 3th MELCO – built satellite to be launched by Arianespace.

As for DSN-1, it is an X-Band Defense Communications Satellite-1 in association with the Program to Upgrade and Operate X-Band Satellite Communications Function, for which the DSN Corporation, a subsidiary of SKY Perfect JSAT, has concluded a program contract with Japan’s Ministry of Defense.

HYLAS 4

HYLAS 4 is not only Avanti’s 3rd satellite launch but is also the 3rd launch with Arianespace from the Spaceport in French Guiana.

Avanti Communications is a world leader in Ka-band satellite communications across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Its HYLAS Ka-band fleet provide broadband access to homes, schools, governments and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) through an elite collection of Service Providers. Avanti has invested in ground infrastructure: it owns and operates its own diverse Gateway Earth Stations in the UK, Cyprus, Turkey, Nigeria and South Africa, with plans for other Gateways in-country, as well as an international fiber ring and cross-connected fiber network, ensuring its customers are always online.

HYLAS 4 will deliver high speed, reliable and secure satellite communications to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Governments and Satellite Operators across Europe, through its Ka-band capacity. The High Throughput Satellite will also provide services in regions, such as West and Central Africa, and with its steerable beams that provide services in Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

It is the 28th Orbital ATK satellite to be launched by Arianespace, a series that started with the TOPEX-Poseidon mission in 1992.

Arianespace’s current order book includes two other Orbital ATK satellites.

countdown
and flight

events
  • Start of final countdown
  • Check of electrical systems
  • Start of filling of EPC with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen
  • Start of filling of ESC-A with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen
  • show the countdown
  • Liftoff
    00:00
  • show the countdown