spacetoday.net: Ariane launches two satellites

Posted: Sat, May 22, 2010, 11:03 AM ET (1503 GMT)
Ariane 5 ECA launch of Astra 3B and COMSATBw-2 (Arianespace)

An Ariane 5 successfully launched two communications satellites Friday night on the 50th launch for the rocket. The Ariane 5 ECA launched on time at 6:01 pm EDT (2201 GMT) Friday from Kourou, French Guiana, and placed the Astra 3B and COMSATBw-2 satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit about a half hour later. Astra 3B is a Eurostar 3000 series spacecraft built by EADS Astrium for SES Astra. The spacecraft, which weighed 5,550 kilograms at launch and carries 60 Ku-band and four Ka-band transponders, will operate from 23.5 degrees east in GEO. COMSATBw-2 was built by Thales Alenia Space for prime contractor Astrium and will be operated by the German space agency DLR to provide communications services for the German military. The satellite weighed 2,500 kilograms at launch and will operate from 13.2 degrees east in GEO, operating in the SHF and UHF bands. The launch, the 50th for the Ariane 5 since its introduction in 1996, had been delayed since March because of technical problems which prompted Arianespace to conduct a quality review of the system.