spacetoday.net: Ariane 5 launches two communications satellites

Ariane 5 launches two communications satellites

Posted: Sun, Jul 2, 2017, 9:42 AM ET (1342 GMT)
Ariane 5 launch of GSAT-17 and Hellas-Sat 3 (Arianespace)

An Ariane 5 launched two communications satellites June 28 in the rocket's 80th consecutive successful launch. The Ariane 5 lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 5:15 pm EDT (2115 GMT) and deployed the Hellas-Sat 3/Inmarsat S EAN and GSAT-17 satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits. Hellas-Sat 3/Inmarsat S EAN is a "condosat" with payloads for both Hellas-Sat and Inmarsat, while GSAT-17 is a communications satellite for the Indian space agency ISRO. The launch was the fourth Arianespace mission in eight weeks after a general strike in French Guiana shut down the spaceport there for more than a month.