Astra 5B launch

Reception in the UK on the 2 footprints does not look hopeful. Shame.
 
astra 5b arrive to Arianespace
 

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That's a bit annoying... Can't they find someone else to fly with them? Astra 2G? ;)
 
timo_w2s said:
That's a bit annoying... Can't they find someone else to fly with them? Astra 2G? ;)
Click to expand...

Hehe. Unfortunately its not as easy as just swapping a couple of payloads around. The main limitation of the Ariane 5 dual payload system is the mass of each passenger has to be kept approximately the same, normally one heavy one (5-6 tons) & one medium one around 4 tons.

So if one passenger gets delayed either you wait or you swap it for one about the same size. Which may or may not be available...
 
http://www.arianespace.com/news-press-release/2013/11-13-2013-VA216-launch-postponed.asp
Arianespace Flight VA216: Launch postponed

Evry, November 13, 2013
Hispasat has informed Arianespace that its Amazonas 4A satellite, one of the two payloads being carried by Arianespace flight VA216, originally scheduled for December 6, requires additional verifications.
The Ariane 5 launch is therefore postponed and a new launch date will be announced as soon as possible.
 
Luxembourg, November 13th, 2013 – SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announces that Arianespace informed the company that the launch of the ASTRA 5B satellite will be delayed to January 2014. The reason is the non-availability of ASTRA 5B's co-passenger satellite for launch on board an Ariane 5 booster from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana, previously scheduled for December 6, 2013. The ASTRA 5B spacecraft, which arrived in Kourou on November 6, 2013 in order to be readied for launch, will now be put into safe storage until the launch preparations can resume. ASTRA 5B was built by EADS Astrium in Toulouse, France, based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite will be located at the orbital position of 31.5 degrees East and is equipped with 40 Ku-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent) as well as 6 Ka-band transponders. ASTRA 5B will extend SES' transponder capacity and geographical reach over Eastern European and neighbouring markets for DTH, direct-to-cable and contribution feeds to digital terrestrial television networks. The spacecraft also carries a hosted L-band payload for the European Commission's European Geostationary Navigation Overlay
 
more delay launch astra 5b
new date febuary 2014
that abs2 take launch on 23 january
 
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