Posted: Thu, Apr 5, 2007, 8:23 AM ET (1223 GMT)
Arianespace announced Wednesday that it has won a contract to launch a new communications satellite for Australian operator Optus in 2009. Arianespace will use either an Ariane 5 or a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana in 2009; the former case would involve dual-manifesting the satellite with another payload, while the latter would likely be a dedicated launch. Optus ordered the D3 satellite from Orbital Sciences Corporation last week. The 2,500-kilogram satellite will provide various communications services from 156 degrees east in GEO. The contract is the second announced by Arianespace this week: on Monday the company announced it would launch two communications satellites for Intelsat on an Ariane 5 later this year.

Related Links:

•  Flightglobal.com article
•  Space News article (subscription required)
•  Computerworld (Australia) article
•  Arianespace press release