Evry, November 17, 2005
Ariane 5 ECA launch a success: boosts record payload into orbit
During the night of Wednesday, November 16 to Thursday, November 17,
Arianespace placed two satellites into geostationary transfer orbit: the
SPACEWAY 2 high-definition direct broadcast satellite for the American
operator DIRECTV, and the TELKOM 2 communications satellite for the
Indonesian operator PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk.
20th successful Ariane 5 launch, 10th in a row, record payload.
Today's mission sets a new record for commercial launches: with over
8,000 kg. injected into orbit, the SPACEWAY 2 and TELKOM 2 satellites
represent the heaviest dual payload ever launched.
Today, Ariane 5 is the only commercial launcher in service capable of
simultaneously launching two payloads. Ariane 5 ECA offers a payload
capacity of nearly 10,000 kg. into geostationary transfer orbit, giving
Arianespace's customers enhanced performance, flexibility and
competitiveness through the best launch service in the world.
Today's mission was the 20th successful launch of an Ariane 5, and the
10th successful launch in a row. One week after the successful launch of
the Venus Express spacecraft by a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome, this confirms that Arianespace, with its complete family of
launchers, offers the best launch solution for operators from around the
world.
SPACEWAY 2/TELKOM 2 mission at a glance
The mission was carried out by an Ariane 5 ECA launcher from Europe's
Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Liftoff was on Wednesday, November
16 at 8:46 pm local time in Kourou (6:46 p.m. in Washington, D.C., 23:46
GMT and on Thursday, November 17 at 12:46 a.m. in Paris and 6:46 a.m. in
Jakarta).
Provisional parameters at injection of the cryogenic upper stage (ESC-A)
were:
Perigee: 249.7 km. for a target of 249.6 km. (±3)
Apogee: 35,912 km. for a target of 35,917 km. (±160)
Inclination: 6.98 degrees for a target of 7.00 degrees (±0.06º)
Spaceway 2, deployed by U.S. operator DIRECTV, the Boeing-built
spacecraft is the second in a series of DIRECTV's next generation of
direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast satellites. The spacecrafts' adaptable
spot beam technology and reconfigurable routing will allow DIRECTV, Inc.
to bring HDTV local service to most U.S. television households.
Spaceway 2 is the 45th satellite that Arianespace has launched for U.S.
customers.
Telkom 2 was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation of the United States
using the Star-2 platform. Weighing about 2,300 kg at launch, it is
fitted with 24 C-band transponders. Telkom-2 will provide telephony,
image and data transmission services in Southeast Asia and the Indian
sub-continent. This is the second satellite for which PT Telekomunikasi
Indonesia Tbk has chosen Europe's launcher, following Telkom 1, launched
successfully from Kourou on August 12, 1999. It is also the fourth
Indonesian satellite to be launched by Ariane, including Palapa C-2 in
1996 and Cakrawarta-1 in 1997.
Telkom 2 is the 43rd Asian satellite to be launched by Arianespace.
--
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