Thu, Jan 02, 2020
Two Satellites Will Be Carried Into Orbit By The Launcher
Payload integration is underway for Arianespace’s first mission of 2020 – designated Flight VA251 – which will orbit satellites at the service of two long-time partners using an Ariane 5 launch vehicle.
Recent activity at the Spaceport in French Guiana included initial steps in creating the dual-payload configuration, with Eutelsat’s KONNECT satellite riding in the upper position. This involved installing the spacecraft atop Ariane 5’s SYLDA dispenser system during activity inside the launcher’s Final Assembly Building.
KONNECT will now be encapsulated by Ariane 5’s protective fairing, completing the payload configuration’s upper portion and readying it for positioning over co-passenger GSAT-30 once this spacecraft from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is installed atop the heavy-lift launcher.
Following Ariane 5’s liftoff from the Spaceport on January 16, KONNECT will be released into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) first, followed by the separation of SYLDA – enabling GSAT-30’s subsequent deployment to GTO.
KONNECT – which was produced by Thales Alenia Space – is a new-generation high-throughput satellite that will deliver services across Europe and Africa. Featuring all-electric propulsion and configured for operation in Ka-band, it is the first to use Thales Alenia Space’s Spacebus NEO platform developed under the Neosat Partnership Project conducted by the European and French space agencies (ESA and CNES).
ISRO’s GSAT-30 was built using an I-3K satellite platform, and is to provide high-quality television, telecommunications and broadcasting services. It will have a liftoff mass of some 3,450 kg. and is to ensure continuity of service for India’s INSAT 4A, positioned at 83 deg. East longitude.
(Image provided withe Arianespace news release)
More News
Aero Linx: JAARS Nearly 1.5 billion people, using more than 5,500 languages, do not have a full Bible in their first language. Many of these people live in the most remote parts of>[...]
'Airplane Bounced Twice On The Grass Runway, Resulting In The Nose Wheel Separating From The Airplane...' Analysis: The pilot reported, “upon touchdown, the plane jumped back>[...]
"Burt is best known to the public for his historic designs of SpaceShipOne, Voyager, and GlobalFlyer, but for EAA members and aviation aficionados, his unique concepts began more t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
There Are SO Many Ways To Get YOUR Aero-News! It’s been a while since we have reminded everyone about all the ways we offer your daily dose of aviation news on-the-go...so he>[...]