Telecommunications satellites for two loyal Arianespace customers – Arabsat and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) – were launched today on the company’s sixth Ariane 5 flight in 2015, bringing to 69 this workhorse vehicle’s string of consecutive successes.Ariane 5 orbited the Arabsat-6B (BADR-7) and GSAT-15 payloads from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana during a flight lasting approximately 43 minutes, and in doing so, continued Arianespace’s record mission pace in 2015 with its full launcher family – which consists of the heavy-lift Ariane 5, medium-lift Soyuz and lightweight Vega.Designated Flight VA227 as the 227th launch of an Ariane-series launcher to date, today’s heavy-lift success continues long relationships of trust between Arianespace and the mission’s customers.Arabsat-6B (BADR-7) was lofted for Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space as part of a turnkey contract with Saudi Arabia-based Arabsat – for which Arianespace has launched eight previous spacecraft since 1985. In addition, it is the 113th Airbus Defence and Space-built satellite to be orbited by Arianespace.GSAT-15 was the 19th satellite entrusted to Arianespace by the Indian Space Research Organisation – and the 18th built by ISRO. This productive relationship extends back to 1981 with launch of the APPLE experimental satellite, and further underscores the strong collaboration France and India have set up in space.ABOUT 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...
