spacetoday.net: Ariane 5 ECA launches

Posted: Sat, Feb 12, 2005, 6:37 PM ET (2337 GMT)
Ariane 5 ECA launch on V164 (ESA)

An Ariane 5 successfully launched a communications satellite and two test payloads Saturday, marking the return to service of the heavy-lift variant of the European launcher. The Ariane 5 ECA lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana at 4:03 pm EST (2103 GMT) on Flight 164 and deployed its payloads into geostationary transfer orbits a little over a half-hour later. The primary payload on the Ariane 5 was XTAR-EUR, a 3,631-kg communications satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for XTAR LLC. The spacecraft, to be located in GEO at 29 degrees east, carries 12 X-band transponders for use in military and other government communications. The rocket also carried SloshSat, a 127-kg Dutch spacecraft designed to measure fluid behavior in microgravity. A third payload, the 3,622-kg MaqSat-B2 test satellite, remained attached to the Ariane's upper stage as planned. The launch was the first for the ECA variant since the failure of its inaugural launch in December 2002. The successful test flight clears the way for the regular use of the ECA, which can place up to 10 tons into GTO, later this year.