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Mission Update

HOT BIRD™ 10 is delivered for its February liftoff on a multi-payload Ariane 5 mission

January 8, 2009

HOT BIRD 10 is unloaded in its shipping container from the An-124 cargo aircraft at Cayenne’s Rochambeau International Airport.

The HOT BIRD™ 10 satellite for Arianespace’s initial Ariane 5 mission of 2009 was delivered to French Guiana today, arriving aboard a chartered cargo jetliner that completed its transatlantic trip from Europe.

This spacecraft will be orbited as part of a multi-passenger payload on the February 12 flight, which will mark the start of another busy year of operations for Arianespace’s workhorse heavy-lift launch vehicle.

HOT BIRD 10 will be utilized by the Paris-based Eutelsat telecommunications operator, and is to be positioned at the company’s 13 deg. East orbital location for video broadcast services. 

The spacecraft is based on EADS Astrium’s Eurostar 3000 spacecraft bus design, and is identical to the HOT BIRD™ 9 relay platform successfully orbited by Arianespace’s year-ending 2008 mission with Ariane 5 on December 20.

For the upcoming Ariane 5 mission, HOT BIRD 10 will be joined by SES NEWSKIES’ NSS-9 telecommunications satellite and two Spirale auxiliary passengers, which are demonstrators for a French defense spaceborne optical early warning system.

Arianespace is targeting six to eight Ariane 5 missions in 2009, continuing the sustained flight rate for this launcher of choice in the commercial launch services industry.