An Ariane 5 ES rocket successfully launched four Galileo satellites from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on Thursday. The launch of the FM-12 through FM-14 involved the first use of the Ariane launch vehicle for a Galileo launch, following the previous use of the Soyuz rocket.The launch – designated as Flight VA233 – marked another milestone in a busy year for Arianespace, with the Galileo mission being the sixth heavy-lift flight of 2016 and its ninth overall this year with its complete launcher family, which also includes the Soyuz and lightweight Vega vehicles.The complete Galileo constellation will consist of 24 operational satellites along three orbital planes in medium Earth orbit (including two spares per orbit). The result will be Europe’s largest ever fleet of satellites, operating in the new environment of medium-Earth orbit.4 Galileo Satellites on the DispenserThe new A5 dispenser system kept the quartet of Galileo satellites in place during ascent, before deploying them in rapid sequence at a targeted release altitude of 23,222 km. 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 spacecrafts 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 around 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 are evaluated 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...
