Arianespace launched another two satellites into orbit – namely ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus - via their Ariane 5 ECA rocket on Thursday. Launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana was delayed from the opening of a long 125 minute launch window, due to poor weather at the launch site, before successfully launching an hour later. Ariane 5 ECA Launch The Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range – was used for this flight. The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher. Although it has the same general architecture, a number of major changes were made to the basic structure of the Ariane 5 Generic version to increase thrust and enable it to carry heavier payloads into orbit. Designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 tonnes into GTO, this increased capacity allows the Ariane 5 ECA to handle dual launches of very large satellites. Given Arianespace now enjoys a full family of launch vehicles – following the introduction of the Soyuz and Vega rockets at the Spaceport – the company adopted a new numbering system to identify its missions with these three vehicles. This mission was designated Flight VA217 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system and was the 217th launch since operations began with the Ariane series of vehicles in 1979, as well as the 73rd flight for the heavy-lift Ariane 5 version. The payload lift performance for Arianespace’s latest Ariane 5 flight was approximately 10,210 kg., which includes a combined total of some 9,410 kg. for ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus, along with the launcher’s SYLDA dual-passenger dispenser system and satellite integration hardware. Produced by Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, California, ABS-2 is based on the company’s 1300-series platform – designed to provide multiple services for global satellite operator ABS, including direct-to-home and cable television distribution, VSAT (very-small-aperture terminal) services, data networks and telecommunications across four continents. ABS-2 Satellite The satellite has been outfitted with 89 active C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band transponders across 10 different beams. These include six dedicated Ku-Band beams for direct-to-home television services in the Eastern Hemisphere and C-Band beams for Africa and Southeast Asia connectivity requirements. Its Ka-Band beam is positioned over the Middle East and North African region to provide service for commercial and military applications. The other passenger was Athena-Fidus, a French-Italian telecommunications satellite that uses state-of-the-art civil broadband Internet technologies. Funded jointly by French space agency CNES, French defense procurement agency DGA, Italian space agency ASI and the Italian Ministry of Defense, it will provide communications services to both armed forces and civil security agencies in France and Italy. Athena-Fidus Satellite Program prime contractor Thales Alenia Space produced Athena-Fidus using its Spacebus 4000B2 platform, with the satellite equipped to deploy the latest civil telecom standards – DVB-RCS and DVB-S2 – to ensure optimum transmission capacity and service availability. It weighed more than 3,000 kg. at launch, and has a design life exceeding 15 years. The next launch, with VA216, is tasked with carrying the Astra 5B and Amazonas 4A satellites. The mission is currently scheduled for March 7, 2014. The first 2014 launch of the Soyuz rocket from the Guiana Space Center, will be via the VS07 rocket, carrying the Sentinel 1B satellite. This launch is scheduled for set for March 28. Arianespace’s complete launcher family will be active from the Spaceport in 2014, with six Ariane 5 liftoffs, four Soyuz flights and two lightweight Vega launches targeted for this year to meet the company’s objective of 12 total missions. GTD AT KOUROU SPACE CENTER 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…
