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MISSION UPDATE
Ariane 5 Rocket to Launch Two Comsats
For 10:04 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 1:
An Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket is poised to launch two new communications satellites into orbit from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, on Thursday between 5:59 p.m. and 7:10 p.m. EDT (2159-2310 GMT).
Mission Description from Arianespace:
"Amazonas 2 will ride as the upper payload on Ariane 5, being released at 27 minutes into the flight. This 5,500-kg. spacecraft will operate from an orbital slot of 61 deg. West, and it to be used by the Spanish-based HISPASAT telecommunications operator for relay capacity over the Americas – with its coverage area extending from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.
It is based on EADS Astrium's Eurostar E3000 spacecraft bus, and will handle a wide range of communications services during its 15-year design lifetime – including direct-to-home television – through the satellite's 54 Ku-band transponders and 10 C-band transponders.
COMSATBw-1 is the lower passenger in Ariane 5's payload "stack" and has a liftoff mass of approximately 2,500 kg. Once in orbit, it will play an important role in the German Bundeswehr's (German Armed Forces) concept for network-centric operations. The satellite will serve as the backbone of a strategic command infrastructure and interface for the Bundeswehr's tactical arms, handling secure information – including voice, fax, data, video and multimedia applications – for use by units on deployed missions.
The coverage area for COMSATBw-1 is to extend from America to eastern Asia. For this German military program, Astrium is responsible for the space segment and is Arianespace's customer for the commercial launch services. Thales Alenia Space designed, manufactured, integrated, tested and delivered the satellite to Astrium, while Astrium's German subsidiary TESAT manufactured essential parts of the payload.
COMSATBw-1 is to be deployed by Ariane 5 at 33 minutes into the mission."
Arianespace is expected to provide a launch webcast here: http://www.arianespace.com/
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