Fwd: Ariane-5 puts two satellites into orbit

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: July 26, 2013 9:31:01 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Ariane-5 puts two satellites into orbit

Arianespace 

Press Release

 

Arianespace launch VA214: Mission accomplished! Ariane 5 ECA orbits Alphasat and INSAT-3D

Kourou, July 25, 2013

 

On Thursday, July 25, Arianespace carried out the 56th successful Ariane 5 launch in a row, orbiting two satellites: the Alphasat mobile telecommunications satellite for the operator Inmarsat, and the INSAT-3D meteorological satellite for ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).

 

Third Ariane 5 launch in 2013, 56th success in a row

 

Today's successful mission, the 56th 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 Alphasat and INSAT-3D satellites, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Stéphane Israël said: "The 70th launch of Ariane 5 confirms the unequaled reliability of our launcher, which clearly sets Arianespace apart. Ariane 5 launcher has just orbited the largest telecommunications satellite ever built in Europe for our customer Inmarsat, and I would like to thank them for their ongoing trust. This technological success is the result of an exemplary partnership between European industry, ESA and CNES. We also orbited a meteorology satellite for the Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO. I would like to express my thanks to ISRO for placing their trust in us for more than 30 years. Each of these satellites will drive progress in the management of crises and emergency situations, reflecting how systems up in space benefit citizens down on Earth. And this is all made possible by the reliability and availability of the launch solutions that Arianespace provides to all of our customers."

 

A launch for two long-standing customers, Inmarsat and ISRO

 

Arianespace provides the launch services that best match the requirements of all operators.

 

The long-standing relationship of mutual trust between Arianespace and Inmarsat reaches back to the launch of the first Inmarsat satellites. The British company has chosen Arianespace to launch eight of its satellites to date.

 

INSAT-3D is the 16th ISRO satellite launched by Ariane since the experimental satellite Apple, launched on Flight L03 in 1981.

 

Arianespace has also launched two other Indian-designed satellites, for the operators Eutelsat and Avanti Communications. ISRO's 17th satellite, the GSAT-7 telecommunications satellite, will be launched on Ariane 5's next mission, VA215, scheduled for August 29.

 

The collaboration between ISRO and Arianespace has been extended to include technological development aid for launcher operation.

 

Alphasat/INSAT-3D 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, July 25, 2013 at 4:54 pm local time in Kourou (3:54 pm in Washington, D.C., 19:54 UT, 9:54 pm in Paris, and on Friday, July 26 at 1:24 am in Bangalore).

 

Alphasat was designed and built by Astrium and weighed 6,650 kg at liftoff. The Alphasat satellite is the result of a public-private partnership agreement between Inmarsat, the world's leading provider of mobile satellite services, and the European Space Agency (ESA), with support from French space agency CNES, to produce and launch the first satellite based on the new European platform, Alphabus, developed by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space. The platform is being used on this mission to deliver commercial services and provide in-orbit validation of the most advanced space communications technologies developed in Europe. Alphasat will deliver advanced voice and data transmission services across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, for both commercial and government customers.

 

INSAT-3D: designed, developed and integrated by ISRO in Bangalore, southern India, the INSAT-3D meteorological satellite weighed 2,200 kg at launch, and offers a design life exceeding seven years. INSAT-3D features a 6-channel imager, data relay transponders (DRT), sounder and a weather warning payload with a cyclone warning dissemination system (CWDS), activated during cyclone season, and a satellite-aided search and rescue (Sasar) system, which relays emergency messages to local terminals. Positioned at 82 degrees East, its coverage zone encompasses the entire Indian subcontinent.

 

© 2013 Arianespace

 

 

Flawless launch of Alphasat, Europe's largest and most sophisticated telecom satellite

 

Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 26, 2013

 

Alphasat will extend Inmarsat's global broadband network, covering Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It has a lifetime of 15 years and its solar wings span 40 m.

 

Flawless launch of Alphasat, Europe's largest and most sophisticated telecom satellite. Alphasat, Europe's largest and most sophisticated telecommunications satellite, was launched into its planned orbit from Kourou, French Guiana.

 

The Ariane 5 ECA rocket, operated by Arianespace, took off at 19:54 GM, 21:54 CEST and delivered Alphasat into the target geostationary transfer orbit about 28 minutes later.

 

Alphasat's signal has been picked up by an Inmarsat ground station in Beijing as expected at 20:!38 GMT (22:38 CEST), confirming that the satellite is at the predicted location, powered up and transmitting.

 

Alphasat is a large telecommunications satellite primarily designed to expand Inmarsat's existing global mobile network. It was engineered and built by Astrium through a public-private partnership between ESA and Inmarsat.

 

All the partners were present at Europe's Spaceport to watch the 6.6 tonne satellite take off.

 

ESA Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications Magali Vaissiere said: "Alphasat will foster the competitiveness of a European telecommunications operator, Inmarsat, associated with European industry, in a domain where the economic prospects are high.

 

"We are proud at ESA to have been able to bring together the energies, capabilities and resources in this enterprise."

 

ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain said: "Alphasat is the successful combination of different partnerships: between ESA and the French national agency, CNES, to develop Alphabus, the satellite's platform; between two major European companies, Thales Alenia Space and Astrium; and between ESA Member States and Inmarsat.

 

"The latter is a rewarding public-private partnership where ESA is taking the risk to develop new technologies and Inmarsat is using these technologies to open up a new market. The qualification in orbit of the Alphabus platform and technology demonstrators on board will open doors for many more partnerships in the short-term future.

 

"It is an excellent example of how ESA is boosting Europe's competitiveness and growth."

 

Alphasat will extend Inmarsat's global broadband network, covering Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It has a lifetime of 15 years and its solar wings span 40 m.

 

Its advanced Integrated Processor, a core element of the commercial payload, is able to perform trillions of operations per second, providing unprecedented service flexibility.

 

Along with providing a significant increase in service for Inmarsat's fleet, it also serves as a first flight for Alphabus, the new European telecom platform developed by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space under a joint contract with ESA and France's CNES space agency.

 

The high-power multipurpose Alphabus platform serves the large-payload market and meets demand for increased broadcasting services. It can accommodate commercial missions with up to 22 kW of payload power and mass of up to two tonnes, and gives European industry a competitive position in the global telecom market.

 

Alphasat is also carrying four ESA technology demonstration payloads: an environmental and radiation testing sensor from Efacec (Portugal), the Aldo Paraboni Q/V-band experiment from Thales Alenia Space (Italy) and Space Engineering (Italy), a startracker from Jena-Optronik (Germany) and a laser communication terminal from TESAT (Germany), provided by the DLR German Aerospace Center.

 

European Space Agency

 

 

 

ITAR-TASS

03:00 26/07/2013 

 

Ariane-5 puts two satellites into orbit

           

PARIS, July 26 (Itar-Tass) - An Ariane-5 carrier rocket lifted off from the Kourou space centre in French Guiana at 23:54 Moscow time on Thursday, July 25.

 

The rocket is carrying two satellites - Indian INSAT-3D and the telecom satellite Alphasat.

 

The Alphasat satellite weighs 6,650 kg and will join operating space assets belonging to Inmarsat to provide mobile communication in Europe, Africa and western Asia.

 

INSAT-3S weighs 2,060 kg and will monitor the weather and provide support during search and rescue operations.

 

© Copyright 2013 ITAR-TASS

 

 

 

RIA Novosti

04:47 26/07/2013

 

Ariane-5 Orbits Europe's Largest Telecoms Satellite

 

PARIS, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - An Ariane-5 carrier rocket deployed two satellites on Friday, including Europe's largest telecommunications satellite ever manufactured, the European Space Agency said on its website.

 

The blastoff took place at the European space center in Kourou, French Guiana, at 23:54 Moscow time [7:54 p.m. GMT] on Thursday.

 

The Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) - the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range - was used for this flight, NASAspaceflight.com said. The rocket is designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 metric tons into the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

 

The launcher had Europe's Alphasat satellite installed in the upper position of its payload "stack." Alphasat is Europe's largest and most sophisticated telecommunications satellite ever manufactured and was designed in a public-private partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA) and UK-based satellite operator Inmarsat. It has a lifetime of 15 years and its solar wings span 40 meters (131 feet).

 

The rocket's lower passenger was India's INSAT-3D meteorological satellite. Once fueled, INSAT-3D had an estimated lift-off mass of 2,090 kg. It features eight new-generation digital signal processors and an 11-meter antenna reflector and has an estimated service life of seven years.

 

Alphasat separated 28 minutes into the flight, INSAT-3D separated five minutes later.

 

© 2013  RIA Novosti