spacetoday.net: Ariane launches two satellites

Posted: Fri, Oct 30, 2009, 10:02 PM ET (0202 GMT)
Ariane 5 launch of NSS-12 and Thor 6 (ESA)

An Ariane 5 rocket placed two commercial communications satellites into orbit late Thursday. The Ariane 5G rocket lifted off from the spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, at 4:00 pm EDT (2000 GMT) and placed the NSS-12 and Thor 6 satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits about a half-hour later. NSS-12 is a Space Systems/Loral 1300-series satellite weighing about 5,700 kilograms at launch, carrying 48 Ku-band and 40 C-band transponders. The satellite will be used by SES World Skies to provide communications services for much of Eurasia, Africa, and Australia from 57 degrees east in GEO. Thor 6, a Thales Alenia Space Spacebus 4000B2 satellite, weighed 3,000 kilograms at launch and carries 36 Ku-band transponders. Its owner, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting, will use the satellite at 1 degree west in GEO to provide direct-to-home television services for the Nordic region and parts of central and eastern Europe. The launch was the sixth Ariane 5 mission of 2009 and the 34th successful launch in a row.