Monday, August 22, 2016

Arianespace ready to launch two Intelsat satellites

Arianespace's fourth Ariane 5 flight of 2016 has been given the "green light" for liftoff on Wednesday following Monday's successful launch readiness review, which was conducted in French Guiana, South America.

The approval also clears the Ariane 5 rocket for Tuesday's rollout from the Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch zone, where it is scheduled for liftoff on Wednesday.

Designated Flight VA232, the mission has an estimated payload lift performance of 10,735 kilograms (23,666 pounds). The rocket will carry Intelsat 33e and Intelsat 36 into space.

Intelsat 33e is to be deployed first during the 41-minute flight sequence and will operate from an orbital position of 60 degrees East. Built by Boeing using a 702MP spacecraft platform, it is the second satellite in Intelsat's next-generation high-throughput Intelsat EpicNG series - joining Intelsat 29e, which was launched by Arianespace aboard another Ariane 5 in January.

Intelsat 36 will be the second passenger released by the Ariane 5. It was manufactured by Space Systems Loral based on the company's 1300 platform, and will operate from the 68.5 degrees East orbital position - where Intelsat 36 will be co-located with the Intelsat 20 satellite launched by Arianespace in August 2012.

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