Mission Update

Mission Update

Arianespace’s Ariane 5 flight with EchoStar XVII and MSG-3 enters its final countdown for liftoff tonight




July 5, 2012 – Ariane Flight VA207

The final countdown is now underway for this evening’s Arianespace Ariane 5 flight from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, which is to orbit a dual payload consisting of the EchoStar XVII broadband telecommunications relay platform and EUMETSAT’s MSG-3 meteorological satellite.

Liftoff is scheduled during a launch window that opens at 6:36 p.m. and continues to 7:05 p.m. local time, with EchoStar XVII and MSG-3 being deployed during a 34-minute flight.

This will be the 63rd launch of an Ariane 5, and Arianespace’s third flight of its heavy-lift workhorse in 2012.

EchoStar XVII is a Space Systems/Loral-built 1300-series satellite platform, and is to be operated by Hughes Network Systems – delivering broadband services from geostationary orbit to consumers, businesses and government customers across North America.

MSG-3 is a weather observation spacecraft for EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).  Produced by a Thales Alenia Space-led consortium, MSG-3 will operate in geostationary orbit – providing detailed images of Europe, Africa and the North Atlantic for use by meteorologists and national weather forecasters.


Launch window for VA207

UTC

Paris, France

Kourou, French Guiana

Washington, D.C., USA

Tokyo, Japan

From 09:36 p.m.
to 10:05 p.m.
on July 5, 2012

From 11:36 p.m.
to 12:05 a.m.
on July 5-6, 2012

From 06:36 p.m.
to 07:05 p.m.
on July 5, 2012

From 05:36 p.m.
to 06:05 p.m.
on July 5, 2012

From 06:36 a.m.
to 07:05 a.m.
on July 6, 2012


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