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.

Volcanic Hazard Map Produced For Island Of Gran Canaria

Volcanic Hazard Map Produced For Island Of Gran Canaria

Spanish and French researchers have defined the age, location, size and geochemistry of the volcanoes of Gran Canaria during the Holocene, 11,000 years ago, in order to draw up a map of volcanic hazards for the island.

The research shows that the area of greatest volcanic activity is one of the most heavily populated areas in the north east of the island, which has suffered 24 eruptions over the period studied.

The team of French and Spanish scientists led by researchers from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) and the "Jaume Almera" Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC, Barcelona) combined the data from previous studies with the results of analysis of 13 new radiocarbon ages in order to gain an understanding of the history of the island and predict the areas to be struck by future volcanic eruptions.

The result, which has been published recently in the Journal of Quaternary Science, is a map of volcanic hazards for Gran Canaria, describing risk scenarios.

"We have identified 24 volcanic eruptions that took place over the past 11,000 years on Gran Canaria. We know that volcanism was concentrated in the northern sector of the island and produced small monogenetic strombolian cones (eruptions that are not very violent and which release lava and pyroclastic flows) and, occasionally, phreatomagmatic calderas (which release ash), Alejandro Rodriguez-Gonzalez, lead author of the study and a researcher at the ULPGC, tells SINC.

In order to create the map, the researchers based themselves on detailed field work, which enabled them to define the limits of the various volcanic units (cone, lava and horizontal spread of pyroclastic flows) with a great degree of exactitude, using geomorphologiccal and stratigraphic criteria.

The data now made available by the scientists makes it possible to better evaluate the scale and type of future eruptions in this area. By working out the areas, before and after, of each eruption using Digital Land Models (DLM), the researchers have developed a novel and very detailed morphometric methodology for this kind of volcanic environment.

The study started with palaeotopographical reconstructions of areas affected by recent volcanic activity. "This allows our methodology to show geomorphological changes according to volcanic type and the periods of erosion involved", explains Rodriguez-Gonzalez.