European and American
communications satellites shared a ride to space Friday night aboard an Ariane
5 rocket, together becoming the heftiest dual payload ever lofted by the
powerful commercial booster.
After a one-day delay due
to unfavorable high-altitude winds, the 32nd flight of Ariane 5 roared off the
jungle launch pad at 2229 GMT (6:29 p.m. EDT) from Kourou, French Guiana on
South America's northeastern coast.
The liquid hydrogen-fueled
Vulcain 2 main engine and twin solid rocket boosters accelerated the vehicle
into the night sky. Enclosed in the rocket's nose cone were the satellite
passengers -- the ASTRA 1L and Galaxy 17 communications satellites. The
payloads and associated adapter equipment topped 20,680 pounds, setting a new
weight record for the heavy-lift Ariane 5.
The solid motors burned out
and jettisoned after a couple of minutes, leaving the cryogenic main stage to
push the rocket before finishing its firing 104 miles over the Atlantic. The stage was shed to fall back to Earth.
The ECA upper stage then
began its 15-minute propulsive job to inject the payload into a highly
elliptical geosynchronous transfer orbit with an apogee of 22,344 miles,
perigee of 154 miles and inclination of 5.9 degrees to the equator.
About 27 minutes after
liftoff, the European ASTRA 1L direct-to-home television satellite was released
from atop the payload stack.
ASTRA 1L will join a dozen
spacecraft in a constellation operated by SES ASTRA of Luxembourg. The system relays more than 1,800 television and radio channels to 109 million
households in Europe. Lockheed Martin built ASTRA 1L using its A2100AX model
design. The 9,900-pound craft is equipped with 29 Ku-band and two Ka-Band
transponders to transmit programming directly to small receiving dishes on
homes.
The spacecraft is headed
for geostationary orbit where it will be located at 19.2 degrees East over the
equator to begin a 15-year service life.
"We are very proud and
satisfied that the ASTRA 1L launch has been a success," said Ferdinand
Kayser, president and CEO of SES ASTRA. "ASTRA 1L will allow us to move
our satellite ASTRA 2C from 19.2 degrees East to 28.2 East to fulfill the high
capacity demand from the U.K. and Irish markets. It will also extend the
coverage from the Canary Islands in the West to the Russian border in the East
and help us to further strengthen our unique in-orbit back-up scheme."
Once ASTRA 1L was deployed
from the Ariane 5, the barrel-like Sylda payload adapter was jettisoned to
expose Galaxy 17 for its release from the rocket. The successful separation of
Galaxy 17 from the upper stage to complete the launch came 32 minutes into the
flight.
Galaxy 17 carries 24 C-band
and 24 Ku-band transponders for beaming video, voice and data transmissions
across North America and the Caribbean for operator Intelsat. The 9,000-pound
satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space using the Spacebus 3000 B3 design.
The satellite should enter
service in July from the geostationary position at 74 degrees West above the
equator, expanding Intelsat's orbiting fleet to 52 satellites.
Intelsat's future plans
foresee Galaxy 17 being relocated to the 91-degree slot to join the firm's
cable television relay network.
"We believe Galaxy 17
will be in demand from customers seeking high-powered C- and Ku-band capacity
in North America. The 91-degree W orbital location is ideal for serving the
media community, and is also well positioned to serve the data network and
government markets," said Intelsat, Ltd. CEO David McGlade.
Galaxy 17 was the 45th
Intelsat satellite to launch aboard an Ariane rocket since 1983.
"About 60 percent of
Intelsat satellites have been launched by Arianespace, and this fall, we will
launch two more satellites for Intelsat," said Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves
Le Gall. "I want to thank Intelsat for the confidence it has had in our
company from the very beginning."
A familiar face in
attendance to watch Friday's launch was NASA Administrator Mike Griffin. Later
this year, an Ariane 5 rocket will ferry to orbit the first European-built
Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo resupply freighter for the International Space
Station.
"I am very pleased and
honored to welcome tonight a U.S. delegation led by my personal friend, Mike
Griffin, the NASA administrator," Le Gall said. "This delegation is
visiting our facility in preparation for the historic ATV launch."
Up next on
the Ariane 5 schedule is another commercial satellite deployment mission. The
August launch will carry the American Spaceway 3 broadband communications
satellite and the Japanese BSAT 3A direct-to-home TV spacecraft. It will be the
third of six Ariane 5s intended to fly in 2007.
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