Ariane launches two satellites
Posted: Thu, Aug 5, 2010, 6:00 AM ET (1000 GMT)
An Ariane 5 rocket successfully placed into orbit two communications satellites for operators in Africa and the Middle East. The Ariane 5ECA lifted off at 4:59 pm EDT (2059 GMT) Wednesday and placed the Nilesat 201 and Rascom-QAF1R satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits about a half hours later. Nilesat 201, a Thales Alenia Space Spacebus 4000B2 model, weighed nearly 3,200 kilograms at launch and carries 24 Ku-band and 4 Ka-band transponders. It will be operated from 7 degrees west longitude in GEO by Egypt-based Nilesat to provide direct-to-home television services for North Africa and the Middle East. Rascom-QAF1R is a Thales Alenia Space Spacebus 4000B3 model weighing 3,050 kilograms at launch and carrying 12 Ku-band and 8 C-band transponders. It will be used by African operator RascomStar-QAF to provide communications services throughout Africa from 28.5 degrees east. The launch is the third this year for Arianespace and the 38th consecutive successful Ariane 5 launch.
An Ariane 5 rocket successfully placed into orbit two communications satellites for operators in Africa and the Middle East. The Ariane 5ECA lifted off at 4:59 pm EDT (2059 GMT) Wednesday and placed the Nilesat 201 and Rascom-QAF1R satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits about a half hours later. Nilesat 201, a Thales Alenia Space Spacebus 4000B2 model, weighed nearly 3,200 kilograms at launch and carries 24 Ku-band and 4 Ka-band transponders. It will be operated from 7 degrees west longitude in GEO by Egypt-based Nilesat to provide direct-to-home television services for North Africa and the Middle East. Rascom-QAF1R is a Thales Alenia Space Spacebus 4000B3 model weighing 3,050 kilograms at launch and carrying 12 Ku-band and 8 C-band transponders. It will be used by African operator RascomStar-QAF to provide communications services throughout Africa from 28.5 degrees east. The launch is the third this year for Arianespace and the 38th consecutive successful Ariane 5 launch.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, June 12
ESA Seeks European Footprints On The Moon After Artemis III
Aviation Week — 6:24 am ET (1024 GMT) Arrakihs, the first ESA mission led by Spain to study the hidden history of galaxies
ICE-CSIC — 6:23 am ET (1023 GMT) How data centers in space could become a reality
Axios — 6:18 am ET (1018 GMT) Quantum Space’s military SPAC is trying to catch SpaceX’s IPO wave
TechCrunch — 6:16 am ET (1016 GMT) SpaceX to close above $2 trillion market cap on its debut, prediction market traders say
CNBC — 6:16 am ET (1016 GMT) |
