An Ariane 5 ECA returned to action on past Thursday 16th October evening, lofting two satellites into space. ArSat-1 and Intelsat DLA-1 (Intelsat 30) rode uphill on the Arianespace workhorse out of the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Lift off came midway through a 51 minute launch window that opened at 21:44 GMT, following a weather and satellite related hold.Designated Flight VA220 in the company’s numbering system – was the fifth Ariane 5 liftoff from the Spaceport this year and the 76th launch of this heavy-lift workhorse, which has now performed 62 successful flights in a row.Flight 220 involved the L574 launcher, the twentieth to be delivered by Airbus Defence and Space to Arianespace as part of the PB production batch.The PB production contract was signed in March 2009 to guarantee continuity of the launch service after completion of the PA batch comprising 30 launchers.The PB production batch comprises 35 Ariane 5 ECA launchers and covers the period from 2010 to 2016.At the end of 2013, a further 18 ECA launchers were ordered, scheduled for launch in 2017. L574 is consequently the fiftieth complete launcher to be delivered to Arianespace, integrated and checked out under Airbus Defence and Space responsibility in the Launcher Integration Building (BIL).The payload lift performance for this flight was estimated at 10,060 kg., which included a combined total of approximately 9,305 kg. for the two passengers – Intelsat 30, hosting the DLA-1 payload, and ArSat-1 – as well as the launcher’s SYLDA dual-passenger dispenser system and satellite integration hardware.The 2,973 kg ArSat-1 was produced for Argentine satellite operator ARSAT (Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales Sociedad Anonima) by the company INVAP, with Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space as leading equipment suppliers.The spacecraft is set to deliver a wide range of telecommunications, data transmission, telephone and television services across all of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay – operating from an orbital position of 72 degrees West following its deployment by Ariane 5.The ARSAT-1 satellite was orbited along with its co-passenger, Intelsat DLA-1, via Ariane 5’s trademark dual-payload missions.The 6,320 kg Intelsat DLA-1 – riding as the upper passenger – was deployed first, at approximately 27 minutes into the flight, around six minutes ahead of ArSat-1’s release. Built for international operator Intelsat by SSL (Space Systems/Loral), DLA-1 – together with the DLA-2 satellite that will be lofted on a future flight – is to greatly expand direct-to-home entertainment offerings in Latin America, as well as provide backup and restoration services.Intelsat 30, based on the FS-1300 platform from Space Systems LORAL is the 135th satellite in the INTELSAT S.A. fleet and the 54th satellite entrusted by INTELSAT S.A. to the range of Ariane launchers.It sports 72 Ku-band transponders and 10 C-band transponders. It is expected to have a service life of 15 years.The Intelsat 31 satellite, equivalent to Intelsat 30, will be launched next year and will operate from the same orbital position.A total of 100 communications satellites have been delivered to geostationary transfer orbits by Ariane 5 during this unbroken string of successes.GTD AT KOUROU SPACE CENTERSince 2003, each time an Ariane 5, a Soyuz or a VEGA are launched from the spaceport in Guiana, as well as the payload, many hours of work are required from GTD’s technical teams.GTD supplies services and software in practically all steps of an Ariane 5 mission – from the launcher's flight program to the responsibility of ground systems that control the launching operations, as well as the radars, telemetry and mission control systems.Each launch is also a challenge for GTD’s team, who is responsible for all the computer systems at the launch site. Each launch is a fresh new project; there is no routine, which means our engineers always embark on an adventure than goes beyond technical jobs that require a lot of responsibility.Countdown: The campaign to prepare a launcher takes about 22 - 30 working days, and a campaign to prepare the payload (satellite) takes from 4 weeks to 5 months (depending on the mission and its magnitude). Our teams are currently able to launch up to seven double Ariane 5, up to four soyuz and up to two Vega per year, that is, 14 telecom satellites and 4 to 6 EO and scientific spacecraft every year.Launch day: The end of the countdown is near. The final operations to fill the liquid propellants on the Ariane 5, and then the ground operation tests are carried out on the launcher. During this stage, gtd's staff is working hard all round the Spaceport. In the launch site's bunker, the technical centre, in Des Pêres Mountain where the radar and telemetry installations are, in the meteorological centre where the last conditions before the launch is authorised.At the same time, a support team is configuring a backup of the computer systems in Barcelona, 8,000 km away from the Ariane 5, which is already letting out oxygen steam.Ariane is launched: Once the launcher is in the air, it is controlled on board (by the embedded computer) and from the Jupiter Control Centre (CDC). These two systems were also designed by GTD’s engineers and are currently being operated by GTD’s engineers, too. Once the launcher releases the payloads (at a height of 500 - 600 km), everyone breathes a sigh of relief and starts clapping and cheering and congratulating each other; but our engineers are already thinking about the next mission that starts the following morning...
