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Ariane 5
October 1

5:59-7:10 p.m. EDT
(2159-2310 GMT)

An Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket to launch the Amazonas 2 and COMSATBw-1 satellites from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

Satellite Broadcast Information
Click here for launch webcast.

Complete Launch Forecast

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/

Tariq Malik, Senior Editor for SPACE.com.

About the Rocket				About the Launch Site
Built by Europe's leading aerospace contractors, the Ariane 5 is operated and marketed by Arianespace. The French Space Agency (CNES) and the European Space Agency are major partners in the effort. The two-stage Ariane 5 is more than 15 stories tall and is powered by a single Vulcain engine and pair of solid rocket boosters. A new cryogenic upper stage is available that will increase its lifting ability to 26,000 pounds (12,000 kilograms). Learn more here.				The Guiana Space Center sits between the edge of the Amazon Forest and the Atlantic coast of South America, near the city of Kourou in the nation of French Guiana. Being close to the equator means rockets launching here require less energy to reach their proper orbit. So the same sized rocket can launch heavier payloads compared to sites such as the Cape.. The tropical conditions are ideal with few launches scrubbed for weather. Hurricanes are not a threat. Learn more here.