Rachel_Sandford
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Saturday, August 6[SUP]th[/SUP], saw the successful launch of Arianspace Flight 203, the 203[SUP]rd[/SUP] flight of the Arianespace company since it first started in 1979. The flight was postponed twice this year, once on July 1[SUP]st[/SUP] for a hydrogen valve problem and another time on August 5[SUP]th[/SUP] due to unfavorable weather conditions. On august 6[SUP]th[/SUP], however, it successfully took off from Kourou, French Guiana at 19:52pm local time.
Arianespace Flight 203 used the most powerful version of the company's Ariane 5 range, the Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A), which is designed to carry heavier payloads. This flight, it is carrying 9,095kg, composed of the Astra 1N and BSAT-3c/JCSAT 110R communications satellites, which will be placed into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO.)
The Astra 1N, which was built by Astrium on the Eurostar E3000 platform, will be providing interim replacement capacity at 28.2°East before being moved to 19.2°East, where it will serve the Spanish, German, and French markets, delivering DTH services. It is equipped with 52 Ku-band transponders, and has an operational life of 15 years. It is set to be brought to commercial service within the next weeks, after in-orbit testing.
CEO and President of SES, Romain Bausch commented on the launch's success by saying, “The successful launch of Astra 1N is another important milestone in our ambitious launch manifest for 2011, which will see four additional SES launches before the year-end. Astra 1N will greatly enhance the flexibility of SES's Astra satellite fleet at two key SES orbital slots over Europe and we would like to thank our longstanding partners, Astrium and Arianspace for this mission success.”
BSAT-3c/JCSAT 110R and its 24 Ku-band transponders, on the other hand, was built by Lockheed-Martin and is to be used by Japan's Broadcast Satellite System Corp. It is to be positioned at 110°East, and will be utilised by Sky Perfect for DTH broadcasting. It too will be brought to service within the month after in-orbit testing.
“We were extremely pleased to collaborate with two valued customers on this program. Once BSAT-3c/JCSAT 110R has been successfully launched and handed over for service, we are confident that both B-SAT and Sky Perfect JSAT will benefit tremendously from the enhanced capabilities that BSAT-3c/JCSAT 110R will bring to their respective fleets,” said Joseph Rickers, Lockheed-Martin Commercial Space Systems president.
According to sources, the next SES launch is set for early September, and it too will be using an Ariane rocket. Ariane has registered several successful launches this year, and only two of them were postponed because of last minute problems. The September launch will be carrying the Arabsat 5C, which will be located at 20°East. It will also be orbiting the SES-2 to replace AMC-3's slot at 87°West. It will be carrying a combination of Ku-band and C-band transponders, which is set to cover the US and Caribbean while hosting the Commercial Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) for the US Air Force.
Arianespace is also set to expand their launcher range by bringing in the Vega and Soyuz. The company will be adopting a new numbering system for their vehicles, with Ariane 5 carrying the “VA” tag, Soyuz carrying the “VS” tag, and Vega carrying the “VV” tag.
Arianespace Flight 203 used the most powerful version of the company's Ariane 5 range, the Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A), which is designed to carry heavier payloads. This flight, it is carrying 9,095kg, composed of the Astra 1N and BSAT-3c/JCSAT 110R communications satellites, which will be placed into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO.)
The Astra 1N, which was built by Astrium on the Eurostar E3000 platform, will be providing interim replacement capacity at 28.2°East before being moved to 19.2°East, where it will serve the Spanish, German, and French markets, delivering DTH services. It is equipped with 52 Ku-band transponders, and has an operational life of 15 years. It is set to be brought to commercial service within the next weeks, after in-orbit testing.
CEO and President of SES, Romain Bausch commented on the launch's success by saying, “The successful launch of Astra 1N is another important milestone in our ambitious launch manifest for 2011, which will see four additional SES launches before the year-end. Astra 1N will greatly enhance the flexibility of SES's Astra satellite fleet at two key SES orbital slots over Europe and we would like to thank our longstanding partners, Astrium and Arianspace for this mission success.”
BSAT-3c/JCSAT 110R and its 24 Ku-band transponders, on the other hand, was built by Lockheed-Martin and is to be used by Japan's Broadcast Satellite System Corp. It is to be positioned at 110°East, and will be utilised by Sky Perfect for DTH broadcasting. It too will be brought to service within the month after in-orbit testing.
“We were extremely pleased to collaborate with two valued customers on this program. Once BSAT-3c/JCSAT 110R has been successfully launched and handed over for service, we are confident that both B-SAT and Sky Perfect JSAT will benefit tremendously from the enhanced capabilities that BSAT-3c/JCSAT 110R will bring to their respective fleets,” said Joseph Rickers, Lockheed-Martin Commercial Space Systems president.
According to sources, the next SES launch is set for early September, and it too will be using an Ariane rocket. Ariane has registered several successful launches this year, and only two of them were postponed because of last minute problems. The September launch will be carrying the Arabsat 5C, which will be located at 20°East. It will also be orbiting the SES-2 to replace AMC-3's slot at 87°West. It will be carrying a combination of Ku-band and C-band transponders, which is set to cover the US and Caribbean while hosting the Commercial Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) for the US Air Force.
Arianespace is also set to expand their launcher range by bringing in the Vega and Soyuz. The company will be adopting a new numbering system for their vehicles, with Ariane 5 carrying the “VA” tag, Soyuz carrying the “VS” tag, and Vega carrying the “VV” tag.