Mission Update
The go-ahead is given for Arianespace's final Ariane 5 launch of 2008
December 18, 2008
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The sixth Ariane 5 mission of this year was cleared for its December 20 liftoff following today’s launch readiness review, which was held at the Spaceport in French Guiana.
This review is one of the final key milestones of any Ariane 5 launch, and it validated the readiness of Arianespace’s heavy-lift vehicle, its dual satellite payload for Eutelsat, the infrastructure at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana and the network of downrange tracking stations.
The approval clears Ariane 5 for its transfer to the ELA-3 launch zone tomorrow, followed by the countdown to liftoff on Saturday at 6:51 p.m. local time at the Spaceport.
Riding in the upper position of Ariane 5’s dual-payload “stack” is the HOT BIRD™ 9 satellite, which will be released approximately 27 minutes into the flight. It will be followed by the Ariane 5’s deployment of W2M about five minutes later.
HOT BIRD 9 was built by EADS Astrium and carries 64 Ku-band transponders for the broadcast of digital and new high-definition TV channels, as well as interactive services. It will be located at Eutelsat’s premium video neighborhood orbital slot of 13 deg. East, with a coverage area extending throughout Europe, and also reaching into North Africa and the Middle East.
W2M is the result of a European-Indian joint effort involving EADS Astrium and ANTRIX (the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation). This satellite will provide both television and radio broadcasting services for Eutelsat, and is to be positioned at an orbital slot of 16 deg. East.
- Arianespace’s official launch kit has more details on the December 20 mission.
Launch Window |
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UTC |
Paris, France |
Kourou, French Guiana |
Washington, D.C., USA |
From 9:51 p.m. |
From 10:51 p.m. |
From 6:51 p.m. |
From 4:51 p.m. |
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