For news of the third Ariane launch campaign of 2008 see: Third Ariane Mission of 2008





May 14, 2008

The Spaceport welcomes its fourth Ariane 5 launcher of 2008

Arianespace is maintaining the sustained Ariane 5 launch pace in 2008, with this year's fourth launcher now undergoing its initial buildup at the Spaceport in French Guiana.

The heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA was delivered on Monday, May 12, by the MN Colibri - one of two roll-on/roll-off seagoing ships that transport launcher components from Europe to the launch site in South America.

Within hours of the MN Colibri's arrival at Pariacabo port in Kourou, the Ariane 5 components had been unloaded and transferred to the Spaceport's Launcher Integration Building. This was followed by the cryogenic main stage's erection and positioning over one of two operational mobile launch tables for the heavy-lift vehicle.

The next step was the rollout of Ariane 5's two solid rocket boosters, which are produced and assembled at the Spaceport. They will be mated to the cryogenic main stage, completing the propulsion system used for Ariane 5's liftoff and its first phase of flight.

This fourth Ariane 5 mission will be another dual-passenger launch, continuing Arianespace's flexibility in responding to its customers' mission timing needs.

Arianespace is targeting the busiest year of Ariane 5 operations since the launcher's 1999 commercial introduction, with a total of seven missions scheduled during 2008. Two on-target accurate flights already have been performed this year: the historic launch of an Ariane 5 ES version on March 9 with Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for the International Space Station; and the April 18 dual-payload Ariane 5 ECA success with Star One C2 and VINASAT-1.

The third Ariane 5 mission of 2008 is in its final phase of preparations, with liftoff scheduled for the evening of May 30. This flight will carry the U.K.'s Skynet 5C military communications satellite and Turkey's Turksat 3A civilian telecom relay platform.

Source: Arianespace Mission Updates

May 21, 2008

The fourth Ariane 5 of 2008 completes an integration milestone

The initial assembly of another Ariane 5 for launch this year is nearing completion at Europe's Spaceport, with the vehicle receiving its equipment bay and ESC-A upper stage during activity inside the Launcher Integration Building.

This heavy-lift Ariane 5 will be used for Arianespace's fourth flight with the workhorse launcher in 2008, which will make another of its trademark missions to deliver a dual-passenger payload into geostationary transfer orbit.


The pre-integrated ESC-A cryogenic upper
stage and equipment bay are raised by an
overhead crane for installation atop the
Ariane 5, which is visible in the
background.

In the streamlined build-up process now employed for Ariane 5, the ESC-A cryogenic upper stage and equipment bay are installed as a single unit – having been integrated and checked out in Europe by prime contractor EADS Astrium.

In the prior procedure, Ariane 5's upper stage and vehicle equipment bay were installed on the launcher in two steps at the Spaceport, which required additional time and validation procedures.

Arianespace is targeting a total of seven Ariane 5 missions in 2008, which will be the busiest year of activity since the launcher entered commercial service in 1999.

Two flights have been performed so far in 2008, with the no. 3 Ariane 5 now being readied in the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building for its liftoff on May 30.

Source: Arianespace Mission Updates

May 28, 2008

Satellites for the fourth Ariane 5 mission of this year have arrived at Europe's Spaceport

The two satellite payloads for Arianespace's fourth Ariane 5 flight of 2008 are now at the Spaceport as the mission rate for this heavy-lift workhorse launcher continues to accelerate.

Both the ProtoStar I and BADR-6 spacecraft were delivered to French Guiana this week, allowing their final pre-flight checkout to begin for a liftoff targeted in late June. (Click on the photos for a larger version):




ProtoStar I is based on Space Systems/Loral's 1300 spacecraft bus, and will provide K-Band/C-Band relay capacity over the Asian region. It is the first in a fleet of satellites that Asian satellite services ProtoStar plans to launch for advanced satellite television services and powerful two-way broadband communications access. ProtoStar I is shown during a fit-check with the cone-shaped payload adapter that will serve as its interface with Ariane 5. This photo was taken in the Spaceport's S5 satellite preparation facility.



An Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft delivers BADR-6 to Cayenne's Rochambeau International Airport this morning. The spacecraft will be used by Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based, satellite operator Arabsat to provide video broadcasting services for the Middle East and North Africa region. BADR-6 was produced jointly by EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, and is based on the Eurostar 2000+ platform.

Source: Arianespace Mission Updates