Spacecraft Moved To Final Assembly Building

The Ariane 5 for Flight 161 took one big step closer to liftoff today when it was transferred from the integration building to the final assembly facility at the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch complex.

In a process that began at 10:30 a.m., the Ariane 5 emerged from the integration building atop its mobile launch table - which was pulled by the Spaceport's multipurpose tug.

It covered the 1.3 km. distance to the final assembly building under a bright sun and only partly cloudy skies overhead.

Flight 161's launcher has been in the integration building since April 25, when the vehicle began its assembly process with the erection of the cryogenic core central stage.

In successive steps, the central stage was mated with the two solid boosters, followed by the integration of Ariane 5's vehicle equipment bay and its EPS upper stage.

With Ariane 5 in the final assembly building, the launch campaign now enters the final stage, which includes integration of the dual satellite payload and the payload fairing.

Liftoff of Flight 161 remains on schedule for early June with the Optus and Defence C1 spacecraft for Australia, and BSAT-2c for the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) of Japan.

FMI: www.arianespace.com