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Mission Update

The third Ariane 5 for launch in 2010 completes its basic assembly

June 18, 2010 – Ariane Flight 196

Initial assembly of the third Ariane 5 to be launched in 2010 has been completed at the Spaceport as its ESC-A upper stage and vehicle equipment bay are now installed atop the vehicle’s cryogenic core stage.

Build-up of the heavy-lift Ariane 5 was performed in the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building.  It is now being readied for transfer to the Final Assembly Building, which currently is occupied by an Ariane 5 scheduled for liftoff next Wednesday with the Arabsat-5A and COMS passengers on Arianespace’s second flight of 2010.

For the year’s third mission of 2010, this latest Ariane 5 is to carry the RASCOM-QAF 1R and NILESAT 201 telecommunications payloads.

Arianespace is targeting a total of six-to-seven Ariane 5 missions this year, maintaining a sustained flight rate for the workhorse launch vehicle.

The first launch of 2010 occurred on May 21, orbiting the ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2 satellites on Ariane 5’s milestone 50th mission.