Fwd: Ariane 5 delivers for three customers

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: August 30, 2013 6:50:38 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Ariane 5 delivers for three customers

Press Release

 

Arianespace launch VA215: Mission accomplished! Ariane 5 ECA orbits EUTELSAT 25B/Es'hail 1 and GSAT-7

 

Kourou, August 29, 2013

 

On Thursday, August 29, Arianespace carried out the 57th successful Ariane 5 launch in a row, orbiting two telecommunications satellites: EUTELSAT 25B/Es'hail 1 for the Qatari and European operators, Es'hailSat and Eutelsat, and GSAT-7 for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).  

 

Fourth Ariane 5 launch in 2013, 57th success in a row: Arianespace continues to offer the world's most reliable launch service!

 

Today's successful mission, the 57th in a row for the European launcher, once again proves the reliability and availability of the Ariane 5 launch system. It also confirms that Arianespace continues to set the standard for guaranteed access to space for all operators, including national and international space agencies, private industry and governments.

 

Following the announcement of the orbital injection of the EUTELSAT 25B/Es'hail 1 and GSAT-7 satellites, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Stéphane Israël said: "The 57th successful launch in a row of Ariane 5, the 80th for our family of the Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega launchers, once again confirms the unrivaled reliability of our launch systems. I would like to thank Astrium, as the industrial prime contractor for Ariane 5, along with all other manufacturers involved, and the CNES teams at the Guiana Space Center, for working with us to make this achievement possible. On behalf of everybody at Arianespace, I would like to express our pride this evening in rising to the challenge of meeting the requirements of our three customers, Es'hailSat, Eutelsat and ISRO. Es'hailSat, like 80% of all new players in the telecommunications satellite market, chose Arianespace to orbit their first satellite. I realize that this is a particularly important moment for Es'hailSat, and for its CEO, Ali Ahmed al-Kuwari. Eutelsat and ISRO are both long-standing partners to Arianespace, reaching back over 30 years, and they continue to entrust us with their satellites year after year, within the scope of partnerships that truly honor us. I would like to express my sincere thanks to both of these companies; this latest successful launch shows that they made the right choice by selecting Arianespace! I would also like to personally thank Michel de Rosen, CEO of Eutelsat, and S.K. Shivakumas, Director of the ISRO Satellite Centre, for sharing this launch with us. And last but not least, I would like to thank Nicole Bricq, French Minister of Foreign Trade, and Her Excellency Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, Qatari Minister for Information and Communication Technology, for kindly agreeing to join us this evening in the Jupiter control room at the Guiana Space Center." 

 

A launch for two long-standing customers, Eutelsat and ISRO, and one new customer, Es'hailSat

 

The EUTELSAT 25B/Es'hail 1 satellite is a joint program by the Qatari operator Es'hailSat and the European operator Eutelsat. It is the first geostationary telecommunications satellite launched for Qatar, and the 23rd launched by Arianespace for customers in Africa and the Middle East.

 

It carries on the collaboration between Arianespace and Eutelsat that started in June 1983, and therefore marks its 30th anniversary this year. Two-thirds of the Eutelsat fleet have been launched by Ariane rockets, and Eutelsat 25B is the 27th Eutelsat satellite launched by Arianespace.

 

GSAT-7 is the 17th ISRO satellite to use the European launcher since the Apple experimental satellite was launched on flight L03 in 1981. Arianespace has also launched two other satellites designed by India, for the operators Eutelsat and Avanti Communications.

 

The partnership between Arianespace and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) reaches back to the creation of Arianespace, and has allowed the two companies to define highly effective joint working methods, as shown by today's launch, just a month after the launch of Insat-3D, a meteorological satellite developed by ISRO, by an Ariane 5 ECA from the Guiana Space Center on July 25.

 

EUTELSAT 25B/Es'hail 1 and GSAT-7 mission at a glance

 

The mission was carried out by an Ariane 5 ECA launcher from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Liftoff was on Thursday, August 29, 2013 at 5:30 pm local time in Kourou (4:30 pm in Washington, D.C., 20:30 UT, 10:30 pm in Paris, 11:30 pm in Doha, and on Friday, August 30 at 2:00 am in Bangalore).

 

This was the 215th Ariane launch, with Astrium as industrial prime contractor. The launch vehicle boosted 9,776.5 kg into geostationary transfer orbit, including 8,960 kg for the two satellites.

 

EUTELSAT 25B/Es'hail 1 was designed and built by Space Systems/Loral in California and weighed 6,310 kg at liftoff. The EUTELSAT 25B/Es'hail 1 satellite is a joint program of Es-hailSat and Eutelsat to operate a high-power satellite at 25.5 degrees East, an orbital position that has been used for many years. This new satellite will serve booming markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. It will replace EUTELSAT 25C to bolster the power and coverage provided from this orbital position. In addition to ensuring Ku-band service continuity for Eutelsat and providing Ku-band capacity for Es'hailSat, the satellite will offer the two partners their initial Ka-band capacity, paving the way for new business development opportunities.

 

GSAT-7. Designed, developed and integrated by ISRO in Bangalore, southern India, GSAT-7 is dedicated to telecommunications services for the Indian government. It weighed 2,650 kg at launch and offers a design life exceeding seven years. GSAT-7 carries Ku, C, S and UHF band transponders. Positioned at 74 degrees East, its coverage zone encompasses the entire Indian subcontinent.

 

© 2013 Arianespace

 

 

 

Heavy-lifting Ariane 5 delivers for three customers

BY STEPHEN CLARK

SPACEFLIGHT NOW

August 29, 2013

 

An Ariane 5 rocket fired its clean-burning hydrogen-fueled main engine, passed an automated check of dozens of health parameters, and lit two tube-shaped solid rocket boosters to blast away from its launch pad in the Amazon jungle Thursday with two communications satellites to serve the Middle East, North Africa and India.

 

Filled with cryogenic propellant, the 1.7-million-pound launcher lifted off at 2030 GMT (4:30 p.m. EDT) from the ELA-3 launch pad at the Guiana Space Center, a sprawling European-run facility on the northern coast of South America near the town of Kourou, French Guiana.

 

Propelled into the upper atmosphere by 2.6 million pounds of thrust, the Ariane 5 shed its two solid rocket boosters in less than two-and-a-half minutes. The rocket crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 20 minutes, then deployed nearly 10 tons of payload over Africa.

 

The launcher released its passengers in a geostationary transfer orbit close to the preflight target. The Ariane 5 was aiming for an orbit with a low point of 154 miles, a high point of 22,325 miles and an inclination of 3.5 degrees.

 

The Ariane 5 first deployed the 13,911-pound Eutelsat 25B satellite, the product of a three-year partnership between Paris-based Eutelsat and Es'hailSat, a startup operator owned by the Qatari government. Known as Es'hail 1 by Qatar, the spacecraft will broadcast television and other services over a swath of the Middle East and North Africa.

 

According to Eutelsat, the satellite extended its solar panels as planned within four hours of separation from the Ariane 5 launcher.

 

Several minutes after its first deployment, the Ariane 5 jettisoned a barrel-shaped dual-payload adapter and separated India's 5,842-pound GSAT 7 spacecraft, the country's first military communications satellite.

 

GSAT 7 unfurled its solar panels about 20 seconds after it was released from the Ariane 5. Officials said GSAT 7 would be declared operational in about two weeks.

 

Each satellite will use on-board engines to raise their orbits to an altitude of 22,300 miles and position themselves over the equator.

 

The massive Ariane 5 rocket achieved its 57th straight success since 2003, putting the European-built, French-operated Ariane 5 in exclusive company among the world's most reliable satellite launchers.

 

"After 57 successes in a row of the heavy-lift Ariane 5, it is once again with great pleasure and pride that Arianespace announces the successful delivery of our customers' satellites," said Stephane Israel, chairman and CEO of Arianespace, the French company responsible for Ariane 5 marketing and launch operations. "Tonight, Eutelsat 2B/Es'hail 1 and GSAT 7 are now traveling in their desired geostationary transfer orbits for lives that I hope will be long and prosperous."

 

Eutelsat 25B/Es'hail 1, built by Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, Calif., is beginning a 15-year mission with Ku-band and Ka-band transponders. Designed to serve commercial customers and offer secure communications to the government of Qatar, the spacecraft will be positioned at 25.5 degrees east longitude for a 15-year mission.

 

It is Qatar's first national satellite, giving Qatar independent access to television, voice, Internet and corporate communications services, while extending Eutelsat's product offerings in the region.

 

"Es'hail 1 is the first step in our effort to enhance availability and quality communications services in the region," said Hessa Al-Jabar, Qatar's minister of information and communication technology, in post-launch remarks from Kourou. "This means more TV channel choices and cable options. This also means a commitment to meeting the sophisticated needs required for the FIFA World Cup in 2022."

 

The 2022 World Cup will be hosted by Qatar.

 

Es'hailSat eventually plans to finance and deploy six or more satellites. The next satellite, Es'hail 2, will be fully controlled in Qatar, Al-Jabar said, and Es'hailSat is seeking another agreement with Eutelsat to deploy a third satellite at 7 degrees west, affording coverage of Europe.

 

"Tonight's launch is a milestone marking a three-year journey since Eutelsat sealed a strategic alliance with Es'hailSat, our Qatari partner, to pursue a ground-breaking joint satellite program," said Michel de Rosen, CEO of Eutelsat, in a written statement. "We are now entering a new phase with the beginning of shared operations of a sophisticated and flexible communications satellite designed to deliver over 15 years of service to our two companies."

 

GSAT 7's seven-year mission will relay communications between Indian naval vessels and military commanders using UHF, S-band, C-band and Ku-band transponders. Positioned over the equator at 74 degrees longitude, GSAT 7 will cover the Indian subcontinent and neighboring waters.

 

The satellite, also known as INSAT 4F, was the 17th Indian satellite launched by Arianespace.

 

The next Ariane 5 launch is scheduled for Dec. 13 with the ASTRA 5B and Amazonas 4A communications satellites, but the Guiana Space Center will be busy this fall with back-to-back launches of Russian Soyuz rockets - currently set for Sept. 30 and Nov. 20.

 

The next Soyuz mission will launch four communications satellites for O3b Networks to enhance broadband connectivity in tropical regions around the world. The Nov. 20 Soyuz flight will deploy the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, a $1 billion project to precisely chart the positions and movements of a billion stars across the Milky Way galaxy.

                                               

© 2012 Spaceflight Now Inc.