ESA Ariane 5 Launch and Orbital insertion of Intelsat 30 and ARSAT-1

On 16 October 2014, Ariane 5 flight VA220 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana to place two telecommunications satellites, Intelsat-30/DLA-1 and Arsat-1, into their planned transfer orbits. 

Credit: ESA

An Ariane 5 has lifted off from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana and delivered two telecom satellites, Intelsat-30/DLA-1 and Arsat-1, into their planned orbits.

Launch of flight VA220 occurred on 16 October at 21:44 GMT (23:44 CEST, 18:44 local time).

Intelsat-30/DLA-1, with a mass of about 6320 kg and mounted with its launch vehicle adapter on top of Ariane's Sylda dual-payload carrying structure, was the first to be released 28 minutes into the mission.


On 16 October 2014, Ariane 5 flight VA220 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana and delivered two telecom satellites, Intelsat-30/DLA-1 and Arsat-1, into their planned orbits. 

Credit: ESA/Arianespace

Following a series of burns controlled by Ariane's computer, the Sylda structure encasing Arsat-1 was then jettisoned. Arsat-1, with a mass of 2973 kg, was released into its own transfer orbit about six minutes after the first satellite.

Intelsat-30/DLA-1, owned and operated by Intelsat, will be positioned at 95°W longitude in geostationary orbit to provide telecommunications and direct-to-home broadcast services to Latin America. The satellite has a design life of about 15 years.

Arsat-1, owned by Arsat in Argentina, will be positioned at 71.8°W in geostationary orbit to provide direct-to-home television, Internet access services, data transmission and IP telephony to Argentina and neighbouring countries. It has a design life of 15 years.

The payload mass for this launch was 10 083 kg. The satellites totalled 9293 kg, with payload adapters and carrying structures making up the rest.

Flight VA220 was the 76th Ariane 5 mission.

ESA ATV-5 Georges Lemaitre loaded with cargo after integration with Ariane 5 launcher

All ATVs have been orbited by Ariane 5 launchers, beginning with "Jules Verne" in March 2008, which was followed by "Johannes Kepler" in February 2011, "Edoardo Amaldi" in March 2012, and last June's flight with "Albert Einstein."

Europe's fifth, and final, Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is now integrated with its Ariane 5 launcher, enabling final cargo loading in preparation for Arianespace's July 24 mission from French Guiana.

The ATV is named after Belgian physicist and father of the Big Bang theory, Georges Lemaitre, and it will deliver fuel, air and more than 2,600 kg. of dry cargo to the International Space Station.

ESA ATV-5 cargo racks filled with cargo for ISS.

In addition, this ATV resupply spacecraft will perform maneuvers to maintain the facility's nominal orbit, as well as test new rendezvous sensors in space.

Using a hoist system set-up in Ariane 5's Final Assembly Building at the Spaceport, the remaining cargo is being loaded through the ATV's top hatch, carefully securing these bags supplied by the European, U.S. and Japanese space agencies.

The ATV program, managed by the European Space Agency (ESA), is part of Europe's contribution to the International Space Station's operation. Prime contractor is Airbus Defence and Space, which also is the industrial architect for Ariane 5.

All ATVs have been orbited by Ariane 5 launchers, beginning with "Jules Verne" in March 2008, which was followed by "Johannes Kepler" in February 2011, "Edoardo Amaldi" in March 2012, and last June's flight with "Albert Einstein."

Arianespace's latest ATV mission in support of International Space Station operations is designated Flight VA219 in the company's numbering system, and will utilize an Ariane 5 ES version of the heavy-lift workhorse.

Stephane israel: Arianespace's New chief urges Ariane 5 modification for big satellites

The new head of European satellite launch firm Arianespace on Tuesday called for a fast-track modification of the Ariane 5 launcher to help it place larger satellites into orbit.

Stephane Israel, who took over as Arianespace's chairman and chief executive from Jean-Yves Le Gall in April, said in an interview that he considered the plan one of his "two main priorities."

Just last November, ministers of the European Space Agency (ESA) agreed after tough debate to fund a new launcher called Ariane 5 ME, and work towards a successor rocket, Ariane 6, whose maiden flight would be in 2021 or 2022.

But Israel said he also wanted a "fast-track adaptation" of the existing Ariane 5 ECA, "which would be available in less than two years." He described it as a "quick win."

It would slightly increase payload volume, enabling the rocket to handle larger electric-propelled satellites, one of the most promising areas of the satellite-launch market.

"Our analysis is that satellites are going to be more voluminous, so we need to gain a bit of space under the fairing," or nose-cone, he said in a press interview.

The proposed "Ariane 5 ECA Adaptation" would not affect plans for the Ariane 5 ME and Ariane 6, he said.
"The cost would be very limited, in the region of several dozen million euros" (dollars), he said.

Arianespace markets the services of Ariane, the Russian-made medium-range Soyuz and the lightweight Vega at ESA's base at Kourou, French Guiana.

The ministerial decision in Naples last November was a compromise between leading ESA members France and Germany, and came at a time of tightening budget constraints.

France had been pushing for a smaller, sleeker Ariane 6, able to deal with one or multiple payloads up to about six tonnes, to meet an expected trend towards smaller satellites.

It would require investment of about four billion euros ($5.2 billion).

Industrialists preferred a DLR, German-backed option, an Ariane 5 ME (for "Midlife Evolution"), able to carry two large satellites each weighing five to six tonnes, and using a new engine from Snecma, the Vinci, that can perform controlled shutdowns and reignites, allowing it to drop off payloads in different orbits.

It would be ready by 2017 at a putative cost of two billion euros ($2.6 billion).

In the end, engineers will push ahead with the ME but try to ensure that its technology is compatible with the Ariane 6.

At the same time, ESA will carry out a review this year of the fast-changing market for satellite launches.

Albert Einstein, Fourth ATV attached to Ariane 5 launcher

Photo of the Automated Transfer Vehicle being prepared to move to the Ariane 5 final assembly building last week. 

Credit: ESA /CNES /Arianespace /Photo Optique video du CSG /P Baudon

Europe's next Automated Transfer Vehicle, set for launch in June to the International Space Station, was hoisted atop an Ariane 5 launcher in French Guiana on Friday.

The robotic spacecraft's tanks are filled with propellant, water, air and pure oxygen.

Technicians will load the ATV's cargo module with fresh food and other last-minute items over next week before the Ariane 5's 17.7-foot-diameter payload fairing is added to enshroud the resupply freighter.

Christened Albert Einstein, the cargo craft is Europe's fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle. When it blasts off June 5, the freighter will be the heaviest spacecraft ever launched by Europe - weighing in at an estimated 44,610 pounds, according to the European Space Agency.

It is also the largest vehicle to visit the space station since the retirement of the space shuttle. The ATV measures 32 feet long and 15 feet wide, and its four solar panels, arranged in a distinctive X-shaped patten, stretch out 73 feet tip-to-tip when extended in space.

Each ATV can haul three times more cargo than Russian Progress resupply spacecraft, and twice as much mass as SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship.

The massive spacecraft does not return cargo. At the end of each mission, it falls back into the atmosphere and burns up, disposing of trash in a safety zone over the Pacific Ocean.

The Albert Einstein spacecraft arrived last year at the European-run spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Timed to the second in order to reach the space station, the launch is set for June 5 at 2136:59 GMT (5:36:59 p.m. EDT; 6:36:59 p.m. Kourou time).

The launch time could change slightly based on further tracking of the space station's orbit, according to Alberto Novelli, ESA's ATV 4 mission manager.

The Ariane 5 ES rocket, missing its payload, rolled to the final assembly building in Kourou in March. 

Credit: ESA /CNES /Arianespace /Photo Optique video du CSG /S Martin

Docking with the space station's Zvezda service module is scheduled for June 15.

Managers decided on May 8 to continue preparations for launch June 5, but engineers are analyzing a potential problem with a navigation aid attached to the space station's docking port.

Officials are concerned a stuck antenna on a Russian Progress resupply craft may have damaged a laser reflector mounted on the aft end of the Zvezda module.

Reflectors are used in concert with the ATV's laser-guided navigation system to feed range, orientation and closing rate information to the ATV's computers, which control the spacecraft's automatic approach to the space station.

An array of 26 reflectors is positioned on the back end of the Zvezda module, beaming laser light back to sensors on the ATV, creating unique light patterns captured and recognized by the spacecraft's cameras.

The ATV carries a backup system using telegoniometers, similar to police radar guns, to emit laser light at a different wavelength up to 10,000 times per second.

Cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Roman Romanenko replaced one of the laser reflectors on a spacewalk April 19.

Engineers suspected contamination may have damaged the old reflector.

Novelli said the reflector suspected of damage from the Progress docking is in a different location and has a different use than the unit replaced during the April 19 spacewalk.

Until the Progress leaves the space station, there is no way to inspect the reflector without another spacewalk.

ESA Albert Einstein: ATV resupply spacecraft enters final preparations

Europe's fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) to service the International Space Station is entering its final preparation phase for a planned Ariane 5 launch this spring from French Guiana on Arianespace's Flight VA213.

Named after Albert Einstein, the ATV is being processed in the Spaceport's S5 payload preparation building, where it was transferred yesterday from the facility's S5C large preparation hall into its S5B high-bay area.

Riding on an air cushion pallet, the ATV was efficiently moved within the S5 building using internal transfer corridors that are maintained to clean-room conditions.

Following its final preparations, ATV Albert Einstein will be moved to the Spaceport's launcher integration building, where the large spacecraft is to be integrated atop Ariane 5.

Weighing approximately 20 metric tons at launch, the series of Automated Transfer Vehicles are developed in a European program for resupply and servicing of the International Space Station, and they rendezvous with the orbital facility after being deployed by Ariane 5.

Produced by an EADS Astrium-led industry team for the European Space Agency, this latest ATV will carry some 6,270 kg. of fuel, water, air, oxygen and dry cargo to the space station.

Additionally, ATVs are commonly used to adjust the International Space Station's orbital altitude and make maneuvers to avoid collisions with space debris.

Flight VA213 signifies the 213th flight of an Ariane with this workhorse family of launchers since 1979.

Arianespace is responsible for launching all ATVs, and has orbited three of them to date: ATV Edoardo Amaldi in 2012, ATV Johannes Kepler in 2011 and ATV Jules Verne in 2008.

ESA Ariane-5 Launch preparations: Mission ATV - Albert Einstein

Ariane 5’s cryogenic core stage is suspended over the launch table in the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building. Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Video du CSG

The launcher for Arianespace’s fourth flight with Automated Transfer Vehicle 4 (ATV-4), Albert Einstein, is rapidly taking shape at the Spaceport, preparing it for liftoff in the spring from French Guiana with the International Space Station’s latest resupply spacecraft.

During activity this month in the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building, the heavy-lift vehicle’s core cryogenic stage was suspended over the mobile launch table, followed by positioning of its two solid propellant boosters.

The launcher’s EPS storable propellant upper stage will then be installed, readying the Ariane 5 for transfer to the Final Assembly Building, where the latest ATV (named after Albert Einstein) is to be mated.

ESA Expresses Interest in NASA Facility To Test Ariane 5 Upgrade

The NASA Plum Brook facility's B-2 test chamber — used in 1998 for propulsion testing of a Delta 3 upper stage. Credit: NASA photo  

The European Space Agency (ESA) is considering paying a multimillion-dollar repair bill for NASA’s B-2 Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, so that the upper stage for the possible successor to Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket can be tested there.

The B-2 Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility is part of Plum Brook Station, a campus about 80 kilometers west of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

ESA wants to use the facility to test the upper stage for its Ariane 5 Midlife Evolution (ME) rocket, one of two options Europe is considering for its next satellite launcher.

However, the B-2 building needs to have its steam ejection system fixed so it can simulate high-altitude conditions needed for the ESA test.

“We have to refurbish those,” Jim Free, deputy director for the NASA Glenn Research Center, said of the steam ejectors. “That’s where the majority of the upgrades, or the refurbishment of the facility comes in. It would be ESA paying for the upgrade, in addition to the test cost.”

Free would not provide a specific figure, but he said the overhaul would cost several million dollars. Plum Brook’s budget for 2012 is $11.2 million, and facility upkeep runs about $5 million a year, NASA spokesman Michael Braukus said.

Maintaining the upgrades paid for by ESA would not be a budgetary issue for NASA “because there is no anticipated customer beyond the ESA test,” Braukus said.

A draft Space Act Agreement containing some of the terms and conditions of ESA’s use of the Plum Brook facility “has been forwarded to ESA for review,” Braukus told Space News April 3.

Final terms and conditions are still under negotiation, but NASA expects European space officials to make a decision about the test this fall.

NASA has completed development cost estimates for the Plum Brook upgrades and is scheduled to conduct a formal review April 11, he added. Those results will be forwarded to ESA.

Pal Hvistendahl, an ESA spokesman in Paris, confirmed the agency is interested in using Plum Brook’s B-2 facility to test a fully integrated upper stage for the proposed Ariane 5-ME rocket, if the agency decides to go that route.

He also said that ESA’s “present baseline foresees development of a new test bench” at a liquid rocket engine test site operated by the German Aerospace Center, DLR, in Lampoldshausen, Germany.

“The testing at Plum Brook B-2 might come as a complement or as an alternative to this baseline,” Hvistendahl said.

ESA Image: Ariane 5 fairing hovers over ATV-3

In preparation for the first launch of Ariane 5 in 2012, the third ATV-Edoardo Amaldi is integrated into its fairing.

ATV-3 will carry several tons of fuels and propellants, as well as food and equipment, to the International Space Station.

The launch of ESA's third Automated Transfer Vehicle is targeting 23 March, with a liftoff scheduled for 04:31 GMT (05:31 CET).

A routine inspection concluded that additional measures are required to ensure the maximum readiness of the third Automated Transfer Vehicle for launch. It was therefore decided to postpone the launch previously scheduled for 9 March.
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For more information on ESA's ATV mission, please visit: www.esa.int/SPECIALS/ATV/index.html

Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Video du CSG - P.Baudon

ESA ATV-3 (Edoardo Amaldi) set to provide annual service to Space Station

The third Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-3), to be launched to the International Space Station in March 2012, is named after Italian physicist and spaceflight pioneer Edoardo Amaldi. 

ATVs are an essential contribution by Europe for supplying and maintaining the International Space Station.

The vessels are named after great European scientists and visionaries to highlight Europe’s deep roots in science, technology and culture.

Credits: ESA

Ariane 5 ES launcher for the ATV Edoardo Amaldi is taking shape at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou as the cryogenic main stage, with its the Vulcain 2 engine, was hoisted to vertical position inside the Launcher Integration Building. 

The lower composite of the launcher - the rocket without the payload and fairing - is assembled from the main central stage and two solid boosters in this 58-m high facility.

Credits: ESA, Arianespace, Optique Video du CSG - J.M. Guillon

ESA & Ariane 5: Paris Air & Space Show

ESA pavilion at Paris Air & Space Show

ESA at the Paris Air & Space Show - slideshow

ESA's director, Dordain, explains the ESA exhibits at the Paris Air & Space Show - Click on the picture to view the slideshow

Intelsat New Dawn Launch Successful: Expands Africa’s Communications Infrastructure

Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, announced today that Arianespace successfully launched the Intelsat New Dawn satellite.

The Ariane 5 vehicle lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 5:37 p.m. (EDT), followed by spacecraft separation from the launch vehicle at 6:12 p.m. and signal acquisition at 6:29 p.m.

The Intelsat New Dawn satellite is owned by a joint venture between a consortium led by Convergence Partners and Intelsat.

The satellite’s 28 C-band and 24 Ku-band 36 MHz transponder units are designed specifically to supply critical communications infrastructure for African customers, who have experienced exceptional growth along with the development of the region.

Operating from a geostationary orbital slot at 32.8° East, Intelsat New Dawn will be ideally positioned to serve Africa through a payload optimized to deliver new capacity for voice, wireless backhaul, fixed line and wireless infrastructure, broadband and media– the fastest growing satellite-based applications in Africa.

“Intelsat and the African continent share a 40-year history in the development of Africa’s telecommunications infrastructure,” said Dave McGlade, Intelsat CEO.

“Intelsat New Dawn will be integrated with the resilient Intelsat fleet, allowing us to expand and enhance the vital communications services that are provided by our customers to business consumers throughout Africa.”

Andile Ngcaba, Chairman of Convergence Partners, said, “The satellite will not only deliver crucial services specifically tailored for Africa, it will also herald the dawn of a new era where Africans enjoy far greater involvement in the space communications industry.”

ESA Launchers: Europe’s new, small launcher takes shape

A full-scale mock-up of the new Vega launcher has been assembled on the vehicle’s launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana as part of the combined test campaign before the maiden flight later this year.

Last November saw the start of mechanical integration with the transfer of the launcher’s first-stage model, the P80 solid-propellant stage, to the pad.

The mock-ups of the other three stages, Zefiro-23, Zefiro-9 and AVUM, and the payload composite were then transferred and integrated in the mobile gantry, where launch preparations take place.

	Payload composite before integration with launcher

Vega assembly was completed last week with the addition of the payload composite, comprising a payload mock-up, the payload adapter and the fairing.

The composite was first transferred from the payload preparation building to the launch zone and then hoisted onto the vehicle.

Launch system undergoes final tests
The combined testing phase now involves the verification of mechanical and electrical interfaces between the vehicle and the ground segment.

It includes the validation of operational procedures for integration of the launcher, the checkout verification, the loading of liquid propellants and the final preparation and readiness for countdown.

ESA - Launchers Home - Europe’s new, small launcher takes shape

Arianespace: Ariane 5 launch of W3B and BSAT-sB satellites

The heavy-lift Ariane 5 completes its rollout – approaching the Spaceport’s ELA-3 launch zone at left, where it was locked in position for tomorrow’s liftoff with the W3B and BSAT-3b satellites.

The Ariane 5 for Arianespace’s next mission has moved to the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport, readying it for tomorrow’s liftoff with a dual payload of telecommunications satellites for Europe and Japan.

Emerging under clear French Guiana skies at 10:45 a.m. local time today, the heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA was transferred during a one-hour process from the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building to the launch zone.

Preparations now are underway for tomorrow’s final countdown, which will lead to liftoff during a launch window that opens at 6:51 p.m. local time and continues to 8:01 p.m.

Ariane 5’s payload lift performance for this mission is a total of 8,263 kg., which includes a mass of approximately 7,460 kg. for its satellite passengers, along with the associated integration hardware and the launcher’s SYLDA multi-payload dispenser system.

Riding as the upper passenger in Ariane 5’s payload “stack” is Eutelsat’s W3B, which will be released at just over 28 minutes into the flight.  This Thales Alenia Space-built telecommunications spacecraft weighs approximately 5.4 metric tons and carries 56 transponders.

To be located at an orbital position of 16 deg. East, W3B will renew and expand resources at a slot that reaches some of the most dynamic markets in the satellite business.

The 2,060-kg. BSAT-3b spacecraft – which was manufactured by Lockheed Martin Commercial Systems for Japan’s B-SAT Corporation – will be deployed from Ariane 5’s lower passenger position at approximately 38 minutes into the flight. It is to provide direct television broadcast services from an orbital slot of 110 deg. East.

Tomorrow’s mission is designated 197, signifying the 197th launch of an Ariane family vehicle since 1979.

The October 28 mission also will be Ariane 5’s fourth flight of 2010, which follows three previous dual-payload launches: Arianespace’s August 4 flight with RASCOM-QAF 1R and NILESAT 201; the June 26 mission that orbited the Arabsat-5A and COMS spacecraft, and the May 21 launch with ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2.

Ariane 5 Is Ready: Thales Alenia Space-produced spacecraft: NILESAT 201 and RASCOM-QAF1R

The Ariane 5 for Arianespace's third mission in 2010 is ready to enter the final launch preparation phase, during which this heavy-lift vehicle will receive its dual-satellite payload.

Scheduled for liftoff from the Spaceport on August 4, this Ariane 5 ECA will carry a pair of Thales Alenia Space-produced spacecraft: NILESAT 201 and RASCOM-QAF1R.

Both satellites have been undergoing processing following their June arrival in French Guiana.

The upcoming mission is designated V196, signifying the 196th launch of an Ariane family vehicle. The Ariane 5 for this flight was delivered to Arianespace earlier this month by EADS Astrium, which is the heavy-lift vehicle's industrial prime contractor.

Astrium performed the Ariane 5's build-up in the Spaceport's Launcher Integration Building, and then transferred it to the Final Assembly Building, where it was received by Arianespace.

Riding as the flight's upper passenger for the August 4 mission, NILESAT 201 will be deployed first in the launch sequence - to ultimately be positioned at an orbital slot of 7 degrees West longitude.

The satellite will deliver digital Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV and radio broadcasting - along with high-speed data transmission services - to North Africa and the Middle East at the service of Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat. Utilizing a Spacebus 4000B2 platform, this relay platform is equipped with 24 Ku-band and 4 Ka-band transponders. NILESAT 201 will weigh nearly 3,200 kg. at launch.

NILESAT 201 is to be installed atop the Ariane 5 SYLDA dual-payload dispenser system, positioning it over this mission's lower passenger, RASCOM-QAF1R.

ESA ArianeSpace: Astra 3B Payload Integration into Ariane 5 ECA

Arianespace has initiated the payload “stack” build-up for its year-opening heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA mission, which will orbit a dual payload of commercial and military telecommunications satellites from the Spaceport in French Guiana.

The integration activity moved into full swing this week with ASTRA 3B’s installation atop the Ariane 5 SYLDA dual-payload dispenser system, which occurred in the Spaceport’s launch vehicle Final Assembly Building.

Riding as the flight’s upper passenger, ASTRA 3B will be deployed first in the launch sequence – to ultimately be positioned at SES ASTRA’s important 23.5 deg. East orbital location, where it will provide direct-to-home broadcast services and two-way broadband relay across Europe and the Middle East.

This EADS Astrium-produced spacecraft is based on the Eurostar E3000 satellite bus, and will have a liftoff mass of 5,470 kg. ASTRA 3B is designed for a nominal lifetime of 15 years.

Integration of ASTRA 3B was performed in the Ariane 5 Final Assembly Building at Europe’s Spaceport.

ASTRA 3B and its SYLDA dispenser will be positioned over the Ariane 5 ECA’s lower passenger for the upcoming mission, COMSATBw-2, which is continuing its pre-launch processing at the Spaceport.

As a secure relay platform, it will deliver key services for the German Bundeswehr (German armed forces), and is a follow-on spacecraft to COMSATBw-1 – which was orbited by an Ariane 5 ECA version in October 2009.

Liftoff for this upcoming Ariane 5 mission is set for March 24 – initiating Arianespace’s busy launch schedule in 2010, which has seven missions planned with the workhorse vehicle.

The Ariane 5’s second launch of this year is targeted for late April, and will loft another pair of spacecraft: Arabsat 5A for satellite services provider Arabsat, and COMS for the Korean Aerospace and Research Institute of South Korea.