Delivers Dual Payload Into Planned Orbits

An Ariane 5, operated by Arianespace, has delivered the GSAT-11 and Geo-Kompsat-2A satellites into their planned orbits.

Liftoff was announced at 20:37 GMT (21:37 CET, 17:37 local time) Tuesday evening from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The mission lasted about 33 minutes.

GSAT-11, with a launch mass of nearly 13,000 pounds, was moved into position for release after about 29 minutes. The 7,700-pound Geo-Kompsat-2A was released 33 minutes after liftoff.

GSAT-11, owned by the Indian Space Research Organization, will provide communications services over the Indian mainland and nearby islands. The satellite has a design life of more than 15 years.

Geo-Kompsat-2A, owned and operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, provides meteorological and space weather monitoring over the Asia-Pacific region. The satellite has a design life of more than 10 years.

The performance requested for this launch was about 22,703 pounds. The satellites totalled about 20,637 pounds, with payload adapters and support structures making up the rest.

Flight VA246 was the 102nd Ariane 5 mission.

(Image provided with Arianespace news release)

FMI: www.arianespace.com