Ariane Flight VA250

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More about this launch

Press release: Ariane’s 250th mission is a success: TIBA-1 and Inmarsat GX5 are in orbit!

Launch date: November 26, 2019

Payload(s): TIBA-1, Inmarsat GX5

Launch vehicle: Ariane 5 ECA

Launch site: Spaceport, French Guiana (Guiana Space Center)

Customer(s): Government of Egypt, Inmarsat

Prime contractor(s): Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space

Orbit: Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)

Status: Success

On its fourth flight with Ariane 5 in 2019, Arianespace will orbit two telecommunications satellites at the service of long-term customers: TIBA-1 for Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space, on behalf of the Government of Egypt; and the GX5 satellite for the operator Inmarsat.

Through this mission, Arianespace highlights its ability to be at the service of innovative satellite solutions for commercial and institutional needs.

VA250 will be the 250th launch of an Ariane rocket, which lifted off for the first time on December 24, 1979.

Payloads

TIBA-1

TIBA-1 is a civil and government telecommunication satellite for Egypt. It was developed by Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space as co-prime contractors, with Thales Alenia Space acting as the consortium’s lead partner.
TIBA-1 will be owned and operated by the government of Egypt.

Airbus Defence and Space supplied the platform and also assembled and tested the spacecraft. Thales Alenia Space, as lead partner, designed and built the communications payload, which will provide broadband communications in ka band.

TIBA-1 will be the fourth satellite launched by Arianespace for Egypt. It will be deployed by Arianespace into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), subsequently transitioning to its operational orbital slot position at 35.5° East.

Airbus Defence and Space is Arianespace’s direct customer for this mission, continuing a fruitful cooperation between the two companies that extends back to Arianespace’s creation in 1980. TIBA-1 will be the 127th Airbus satellite launched by Arianespace, as well as the 113th main passenger on a launcher from the Arianespace family.

There currently is a total of 22 Airbus satellites in Arianespace’s order book.

TIBA-1 is the 160th satellite launch by Arianespace for Thales Alenia Space, the co-prime and lead partner of this program.

Inmarsat GX5

GX5 is a mobile communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications. Inmarsat’s fifth Ka-band Global Xpress (GX) satellite, GX5 will be the most advanced in the GX fleet, which in less than four years has become the gold standard for seamless, globally available, mobile broadband services.

Located in a geostationary orbit at 11° East, GX5 will deliver greater capacity than the entire existing GX fleet (GX1-GX4) combined and will support the rapid growth in customer demand for GX services in Europe and the Middle East, particularly for aviation passenger Wi-Fi and commercial maritime services.

It is equipped with 72 Ka-band fixed spot beams and 4 steerable beams to direct additional capacity where it is needed. GX5 heralds the start of an unprecedented enhancement in the overall capacity and capabilities of the GX network with a further 7 advanced payloads scheduled to launch over the next four years.

This is the 10th time that Inmarsat has chosen Arianespace’s launch services, demonstrating a well-established trust – with the two companies’ relationship dating back to 1981. The mission with Inmarsat GX5 comes two years after Arianespace successfully launched the “condosat” Hellas Sat 3/Inmarsat S-EAN with an Ariane 5.

The Inmarsat GX5 satellite will be the 161st satellite manufactured by Thales Alenia Space to be launched by Arianespace.

Six additional Thales Alenia Space satellites are included in Arianespace’s order book.