spacetoday.net: Ariane launches two satellites

Posted: Sat, Dec 22, 2007, 6:56 AM ET (1156 GMT)
Ariane 5 launch of RASCOM-QAF1 and Horizons-2 (ESA/CNES/Arianespace)

An Ariane 5 launched two communications satellites Friday evening in its sixth and final mission of the year. The Ariane 5 GS lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana at 4:42 pm EST (2142 GMT) and inserted the RASCOM-QAF1 and Horizons-2 spacecraft into geosynchronous transfer orbit approximately a half-hour later. RASCOM-QAF1, built by Thales Alenia Space for African operator RASCOMSTAR-QAF, will provide communication services across Africa from 2.85 degrees east in GEO. The spacecraft, a Spacebus 4000B3, weighed 3,200 kilograms at liftoff and carries 12 Ku-band and 8 C-band transponders. Horizons-2, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation for Intelsat and JSAT, will provide video and data services for parts of NOrth America and the Caribbean. The 2,300-kilogram spacecraft carries 20 Ku-band transponders. The launch was the sixth Ariane 5 launch of 2007, the most Ariane 5 launches performed by Arianespace in a single year.