spacetoday.net: Ariane 5 launches two communications satellites

Posted: Thu, Jun 12, 2003, 8:27 AM ET (1227 GMT)
Ariane 5 launch on Flight 145 (ESA)

An Ariane 5 successfully launched two communications satellites for Australia and Japan Wednesday evening. The Ariane 5G lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana at 6:38 pm EDT (2238 GMT) Wednesday, an hour later than planned because of weather issues. The booster's two payloads, the Optus and Defence C1 and the BSAT-2c spacecraft, separated from the booster 35 minutes after launch, after entering geostationary transfer orbit. Optus and Defence C1 is a joint commercial-military communications satellite: it carries 24 Ku-band transponders that will be used by SingTel, the parent company of Optus, to provide communications services in the Asia Pacific region, as well as 4 X-band, 4 Ku-band, and 6 UHF channels for use by the Australian military. The spacecraft was built by Mitusbishi Electric Corporation and Space Systems/Loral, and will be located at 156 degrees east. BSAT-2c, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, has 4 Ku-band transponders that will be used by Japanese company B-SAT to provide direct television broadcasting services. That spacecraft will be located at 110 degrees east. The launch is the second this year for the Ariane 5, and the third overall for Arianespace in 2003. The next Ariane 5 launch, of two communications satellites and ESA's SMART-1 lunar mission, is scheduled for late August.