Ariane 5 ECA Launch:

The Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range – will be used for this flight. The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher.

Although it has the same general architecture, a number of major changes were made to the basic structure of the Ariane 5 Generic version to increase thrust and enable it to carry heavier payloads into orbit.

Designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 tonnes into GTO, this increased capacity allows the Ariane 5 ECA to handle dual launches of very large satellites.

Given Arianespace now enjoys a full family of launch vehicles – following the introduction of the Soyuz and Vega rockets at the Spaceport – the company adopted a new numbering system to identify its missions with these three vehicles.

As such, Ariane 5 flights carry the “VA” designation, followed by the flight number. The “V” stands for “vol,” the French word for “flight,” while the “A” represents the use of an Ariane launch vehicle.

With the introduction of Soyuz at the Spaceport in 2011, Arianespace missions from South America with the medium-lift workhorse launcher are being designated “VS,” while flights with the lightweight Vega vehicle are referenced as “VV”, following its successful debut this year.

Click here for Ariane 5 News Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/ariane-5/

This flight was designated Flight VA212 in Arianespace’s numbering system, representing the 212th mission of an Ariane family launcher since the maiden liftoff of an Ariane 1 version in 1979. The launch was also the 68th Ariane 5 liftoff.

The total payload performance for this mission was approximately 10,350 kg – which includes the two satellite passengers and their integration hardware for Ariane 5′s dual-payload deployment system.

Riding in the upper position of Ariane 5′s payload “stack” is Amazonas 3 – the seventh Spanish satellite to be launched by Arianespace.

Built by Space Systems/Loral for the HISPASAT Group, Amazonas 3 will provide telecommunications relay services over the Americas, Europe, and North Africa, delivering direct-to-home television (DTH), corporate fixed and mobile telephone networks and broadband capacity.

The 6,265-kg.-class relay platform is equipped with 33 Ku-band and 19 C-band transponders, along with nine Ka-band spot beams, and has been designed to provide telecommunications relay services.

The satellite will help with the capacity demands during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil – the world’s biggest sporting event, which gains billions in TV viewers.

Azerspace/Africasat-1a is located in the lower portion of Ariane 5′s payload stack, and it carries 24 C-band transponders and 12 Ku-band transponders to deliver communications coverage for Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Europe and Africa.

Produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation under contract to the Republic of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies for satellite operator Azercosmos, it will be the initial satellite orbited by Arianespace for this nation situated in the Caucasus region.

The satellite is based on Orbital’s STAR-2 platform with a designed mission life of 15 years.

A total of six Ariane 5 flights are scheduled from the Spaceport this year, along with four medium-lift Soyuz launches and one with the light-lift Vega.

In addition, Arianespace opened their 2013 campaign with the launch of the final batch of six satellites for Globalstar’s second-generation constellation on a Soyuz mission from Baikonur Cosmodrome, under the flag of the company’s Starsem affiliate.

(Images via Arianespace)

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Ariane 5 ECA Launch:

The Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range – was used for this flight. The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher.

Although it has the same general architecture, a number of major changes were made to the basic structure of the Ariane 5 Generic version to increase thrust and enable it to carry heavier payloads into orbit.

Designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 tonnes into GTO, this increased capacity allows the Ariane 5 ECA to handle dual launches of very large satellites.

Given Arianespace now enjoys a full family of launch vehicles – following the introduction of the Soyuz and Vega rockets at the Spaceport – the company has adopted a new numbering system to identify its missions with these three vehicles.

As such, Ariane 5 flights carry the “VA” designation, followed by the flight number. The “V” stands for “vol,” the French word for “flight,” while the “A” represents the use of an Ariane launch vehicle.

With the introduction of Soyuz at the Spaceport in 2011, Arianespace missions from South America with the medium-lift workhorse launcher are being designated “VS,” while flights with the lightweight Vega vehicle are referenced as “VV”, following its successful debut this year.

This flight was designated Flight VA211 in Arianespace’s numbering system, representing the 211th mission of an Ariane family launcher since the maiden liftoff of an Ariane 1 version in 1979. The launch was also be the 67th Ariane 5 liftoff.

The total payload performance for this mission was approximately 8,635 kg. – which included the two satellite passengers and their integration hardware for Ariane 5′s dual-payload deployment system.

Skynet 5D rode to space as the upper passenger in Ariane 5′s payload “stack,” deployed first in the launch sequence, at T+27 minutes.

This is was the fourth satellite in the Skynet 5 series – built by Astrium – which is the prime contractor for the British military satellite program, operated as a Private Finance Initiative with the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence.

Previously, Arianespace orbited the Skynet 4B, 4C, 4E and 4F satellites for the British Ministry of Defence. Skynet 5D was the 35th military payload to have chosen an Ariane launch.

The Astrium Services business of Astrium operates the Skynet military satellite constellation and the ground network for all beyond-line-of-sight communications to the UK Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office. Astrium Services also provides Skynet-based communication services to other forces around the world, including the United States, Portugal and Australia.

The Skynet 5D relay platform is expected to reinforce and extend the operational services provided by the three Skynet 5 satellites already in orbit. It will be located over the Middle East – at a 53 deg. East orbital slot. The first three Skynet 5 satellites also were launched by Arianespace on Ariane 5 vehicles.

Larger fuel tanks on this latest Skynet spacecraft will enable it to be repositioned more frequently to meet operational needs. It will weigh approximately 5,000 kg. at launch and carry X-band transponders to provide secure voice and data communications for military operations in peacekeeping and battlefield conditions

To provide additional UHF capacity on Skynet 5D for military and government customers worldwide, Astrium Services earlier this year signed a multi-million dollar contract with Harris CapRock.

Mexsat Bicentenario was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, based on its GEOStar-2 platform – generate approximately 3.5 kilowatts of payload power, and sporting 12 active extended Ku-band and 12 active extended C-band transponders.

This was the fifth Mexican satellite launched by Ariane and the 23rd Orbital-built satellite to be transported by Arianespace. It was deployed by the vehicle at T+36 minutes.

The spacecraft has a design lifetime of 16 years and weighs about 3,000 kg. for liftoff. It will be positioned in geostationary orbit at 114.9 deg. West to provide communication services to Mexico and its surrounding waters.

Under a contract with Boeing, Orbital completed the work on MEXSAT Bicentenario as part of a three-satellite order for the Federal Government of Mexico. As prime contractor for MEXSAT, Boeing is providing two larger satellites in the series that are scheduled for launch in 2013 and 2014.

The Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes of Mexico will take over day-to-day operations of the satellites as they are launched and undergo on-orbit testing, verification and positioning.

“MEXSAT Bicentenario is based on Orbital’s flight-proven GEOStar-2 platform, which enabled us to deliver the spacecraft on a short delivery schedule,” said Christopher Richmond, Orbital senior vice president of Communications Satellite Programs. “We are looking forward to a successful launch and a smooth on-orbit checkout sequence.”

Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems is the overall integrator of the MEXSAT communications network, which will comprise three satellites, two ground telemetry and control sites, associated network operations systems, and reference user terminals.

The second and third MEXSAT satellites will be Boeing 702HP geomobile satellites that will each supply 14 kilowatts of power and carry a 22-meter L-band reflector for mobile satellite services.

(Images via Arianespace)

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Who To Launch With:

Customers wishing to launch their payloads into orbit have several options to choose from, with companies based around the world, sometimes with several launch vehicle options available to cater for their spacecraft.

Arianespace currently have three vehicles on their books, with the Vega the latest rocket to enter the market, enabling small spacecraft to be launched from their base at the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Arianespace also added the Soyuz launch vehicle to their roster, becoming the stable mate of their flagship Ariane 5 rocket.

The company currently rely on their Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A), the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range, which successfully lofted its dual payload of the Star One C3 and Eutelsat21B/W6A telecommunication satellites – weighing in at a combined 9.6 tonnes – into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) this month.

The launch represented the 210th mission of an Ariane family launcher since the maiden liftoff of an Ariane 1 version in 1979. The launch was also the 66th Ariane 5 liftoff, the 51st success in a row, as Arianespace hold claim to being the top launch services company on the planet, with an order book full to the brim.

Looking to the future, the Ariane 5 ME (Mid-life Evolution) is currently classed as in development for flight in 2016-2017, sporting a new Upper Stage with an increased propellant volume, powered by the Vinci expander cycle engine that – unlike the ECA’s HM7B engine – can restart up to five times, allowing for direct GEO insertion.

However, Arianespace may opt to push forward with the Ariane 6 – more suited to larger satellites and cheaper production costs – to cater for their target market in the years to come.

This subject is on the agenda for ministers from the European Space Agency’s 20 member states at their meeting in Naples this month.

The main question is whether to advance straight to the Ariane 6, or continue on the path of upgrading to the Ariane 5 ME. ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain has previously mentioned the need for Ariane 6 by directly referencing competitors in India, China – and in the US, namely SpaceX.

It is possible Mr Dordian’s naming of SpaceX as a direct competitor caused Mr Musk to comment on Arianespace’s current flagship, Ariane 5 – during an interview with the BBC’s Jonathan Amos – noting that a failure to evolve the European workhorse would only lead to his Falcon rockets dominating over the Ariane.

“Ariane 5 has no chance. I don’t say that with a sense of bravado but there’s really no way for that vehicle to compete with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy,” noted Mr Musk, who was in London to speak at the Royal Aeronautical Society where he was being honored for his role in commercial space.

“If I were in the position of Ariane, I would really push for an Ariane 6.”

Mr Musk is understandably buoyant about his company’s future in the market, with an order book that is filling up at an extraordinary pace for such a relatively young company, in addition to the upcoming debut of Falcon 9′s big brother, the Falcon Heavy – which will be the most powerful launch vehicle on the planet when it makes its first ride uphill.

One of the keys to Mr Musk’s comment is the pricing of the services provided, with SpaceX entering – and claiming to being able to sustain – a much cheaper cost to the customer than all of its main competitors, both domestic and overseas, such as Arianespace.

“Not only can we sustain the prices, but the next version of Falcon 9 is actually able to go to a lower price,” added Mr Musk during the BBC interview. “So if Ariane can’t compete with the current Falcon 9, it sure as hell can’t compete with the next one.”

However, low costs aren’t everything, as pointed out by Dr George Sowers, ULA VP for Human Launch Services, who was speaking prior to Mr Musk’s interview, when asked about how ULA compete on price.

“The short and direct answer is that ULA has, and will continue, to compete on total value to include price. We have gone head to head with SpaceX on several occasions and have won the majority,” Dr Sowers said to NASASpaceFlight.com in August.

“In the launch business, price is never the sole consideration for the buyer. That’s because launch price is a small percentage of the total program value (which can exceed replacement cost when there’s no money to replace, like the Glory spacecraft).”

ULA operate the Delta IV and the Atlas V – the latter sporting what the company proclaims to be a 100 percent track record since its 2002 debut.

Falcon 9 has only launched four times, with some dicey moments during its short history, most notably with the CRS-1 Dragon launch last month – although all four launches have resulted in primary mission success.

The Atlas V is currently used by NASA and the Department of Defense (DOD) for critical space missions to launch highly expensive payloads into orbit – as seen with the successes with the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and NASA’s Juno probe.

Notably, SpaceX and ULA have a “competitive” history in the national security payload arena, namely the contracts associated with the US Government-sponsored Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.

“In ULA’s market of national security payloads and unique science probes, capability, schedule assurance and reliability often overwhelm any other consideration. As a citizen and taxpayer, I think that’s appropriate,” added Dr Sowers.

“Not to minimize SpaceX’s impressive achievements, but ULA’s customers want to see a track record of success, repeatably delivering complex payloads to orbit, safely and on time.”

Atlas V – like Falcon 9 – is now walking down the path of proving it can be entrusted with launching humans into orbit, with both vehicles facing off in NASA’s commercial crew development program competition. The two launch vehicles are the last rockets standing, as the process moved into the Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCAP) stage.

SpaceX are hoping their Falcon 9 will launch NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) via a crew-capable version of their Dragon spacecraft, while ULA’s Atlas V has both the Boeing CST-100 and SNC’s Dream Chaser under its wing.

(Images: ULA, SpaceX, Arianespace, BBC, SNC and L2).

(Click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/ – to view how you can support NSF and access the best space flight content on the entire internet).

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Ariane 5 ECA Launch:

The Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range – was used for this flight. The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher.

Although it has the same general architecture, a number of major changes were made to the basic structure of the Ariane 5 Generic version to increase thrust and enable it to carry heavier payloads into orbit.

Designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 tonnes into GTO, this increased capacity allows the Ariane 5 ECA to handle dual launches of very large satellites.

Given Arianespace now enjoys a full family of launch vehicles – following the introduction of the Soyuz and Vega rockets at the Spaceport – the company has adopted a new numbering system to identify its missions with these three vehicles.

As such, Ariane 5 flights carry the “VA” designation, followed by the flight number.  The “V” stands for “vol,” the French word for “flight,” while the “A” represents the use of an Ariane launch vehicle.

With the introduction of Soyuz at the Spaceport in 2011, Arianespace missions from South America with the medium-lift workhorse launcher are being designated “VS,” while flights with the lightweight Vega vehicle are referenced as “VV”, following its successful debut this year.

For other Ariane 5 Articles, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/ariane-5/

This flight was designated Flight VA210 in Arianespace’s numbering system, representing the 210th mission of an Ariane family launcher since the maiden liftoff of an Ariane 1 version in 1979. The launch was also be the 66th Ariane 5 liftoff.

The launch was delayed 24 hours, following Friday’s scrub due to unacceptable high altitude winds.

Payload lift performance for the Ariane 5 was estimated at 9,215 kg. – which includes 8,250 kg. for the two satellites, along with the launcher’s dual-passenger dispenser system and integration hardware.

EUTELSAT 21B – with a mass of five metric tons – is based on the Spacebus 4000 platform and will offer significantly increased capacity, incorporating 40 Ku-band transponders compared to 29 on the EUTELSAT 21A relay platform it is to succeed, while offering improved power and coverage.

After being lofted by Ariane 5, EUTELSAT 21B will operate for Eutelsat Communications at 21.5 degrees East – a major orbital position for data, professional video and government services, with coverage over Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

The spacecraft was built by Thales Alenia Space.

The 3,200 kg Star One C3 is the newest member in the third generation of satellites for Brazil’s Star One – an Embratel company.  Produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation with 28 C-band and 16 Ku-band transponders, the satellite will replace the Brasilsat B3 satellite, currently operating at the 75 degrees W orbital position.

With a footprint encompassing Miami and the entire South America region – including the Andean countries of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela – Star One C3 will expand the capacity and coverage for TV, data and voice transmission services.

Additionally, Star One C3′s reach will span the waters under Brazilian jurisdiction to the pre-salt area – the group of rocks located in marine portions of the country’s coast, where there is potential for exploiting accumulations of oil. By providing coverage in this area, the satellite offers better communication possibilities for the oil and gas industry.

Oil and Gas are two of the key commodities that has helped Brazil become an economic power in recent years, aiding its rise on the international stage to the level where it will host the planet’s number 1 and 2 sporting events, namely the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics respectively.

(Images: Arianespace).

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Ariane 5 ECA Launch:

The Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range – was used for this flight. The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher.

Although it has the same general architecture, a number of major changes were made to the basic structure of the Ariane 5 Generic version to increase thrust and enable it to carry heavier payloads into orbit.

Designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 tonnes into GTO, this increased capacity allows the Ariane 5 ECA to handle dual launches of very large satellites.

Given Arianespace now enjoys a full family of launch vehicles – following the introduction of the Soyuz and Vega rockets at the Spaceport – the company has adopted a new numbering system to identify its missions with these three vehicles.

As such, Ariane 5 flights carry the “VA” designation, followed by the flight number.  The “V” stands for “vol,” the French word for “flight,” while the “A” represents the use of an Ariane launch vehicle.

With the introduction of Soyuz at the Spaceport in 2011, Arianespace missions from South America with the medium-lift workhorse launcher are being designated “VS,” while flights with the lightweight Vega vehicle are referenced as “VV”, following its successful debut this year.

For other Ariane 5 Articles, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/ariane-5/

This flight was designated Flight VA209 in Arianespace’s numbering system, representing the 209th mission of an Ariane family launcher since the maiden liftoff of an Ariane 1 version in 1979. The success is the 51st in a row for the Ariane 5.

The payload lift performance for Arianespace’s latest Ariane 5 mission was more than 10,200 kg., which includes some 9,400 kg. for its two satellite passengers – ASTRA 2F and GSAT-10 – along with the launcher’s dual-payload dispenser system and satellite integration hardware.

The mission’s Astra 2F passenger was produced by the Astrium division of EADS for satellite operator SES, and is configured with Ku- and Ka-band transponders to enable the delivery of next-generation broadcast, VSAT and broadband services in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

This powerful six metric ton-class relay platform utilizes Astrium’s Eurostar E3000 satellite bus and carries Ku- and Ka-band payloads for the delivery of high performance Direct-to-Home (DTH) and next-generation broadband services. It will be deployed first during the 30-minute flight sequence.

Its planned orbital location at 28.2 degrees East is one of SES’ prime positions that serves such premium broadcasters as BSkyB, the BBC, ITV and Channel 5.  From this geostationary slot, SES delivers programming to almost 13 million satellite homes and over three million cable homes, as well as 700,000 Internet Protocol television (IPTV) homes in the U.K. and Ireland. 

Additionally, 28.2 degrees East is used by SES to broadcast numerous channels for the growing DTH platforms in sub-Saharan Africa.

Also orbited by Ariane 5 was the Indian Space Research Organisation’s GSAT-10, which carries Ku- and C-band transponders for relay services, as well as the GAGAN (GPS and GEO augmented navigation) payload.

Configured with 12 Ku-band, 12 C-band and 12 extended C-band transponders, GSAT-10 utilizes the I-3K satellite bus developed by ISRO, with a power capability of some six kilowatts and a liftoff mass estimated at 3,400 kg.

Also included on GSAT-10 is the GAGAN (GPS and GEO augmented navigation) payload, which will support the Indian government’s implementation of a satellite-based regional capability to assist aircraft navigation over Indian airspace and in adjoining areas. The initial GAGAN payload was carried aboard the GSAT-8 spacecraft, orbited by Arianespace on an Ariane 5 mission in May 2011.

Arianespace’s September 28 mission continues a busy year of activity for the workhorse Ariane 5.

Previous launches conducted in 2012 include the March delivery of Europe’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle for servicing of the International Space Station - which is set to undock shortly after Friday’s launch - along with dual-payload missions that orbited JCSAT-13 & VINASAT-2 (May), EchoStar XVII & MSG-3 (July) and Intelsat 20 & HYLAS 2 (August).

(Images via Arianespace).

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Ariane 5 ECA Mission:

The Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range – was used for this flight. The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher.

Although it has the same general architecture, a number of major changes were made to the basic structure of the Ariane 5 Generic version to increase thrust and enable it to carry heavier payloads into orbit.

Designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 tonnes into GTO, this increased capacity allows the Ariane 5 ECA to handle dual launches of very large satellites.

Given Arianespace now enjoys a full family of launch vehicles – following the introduction of the Soyuz and Vega rockets at the Spaceport – the company has adopted a new numbering system to identify its missions with these three vehicles.

As such, Ariane 5 flights carry the “VA” designation, followed by the flight number.  The “V” stands for “vol,” the French word for “flight,” while the “A” represents the use of an Ariane launch vehicle.

With the introduction of Soyuz at the Spaceport in 2011, Arianespace missions from South America with the medium-lift workhorse launcher are being designated “VS,” while flights with the lightweight Vega vehicle are referenced as “VV”, following its successful debut this year.

This flight was designated Flight VA208 in Arianespace’s numbering system, representing the 208th mission of an Ariane family launcher since the maiden liftoff of an Ariane 1 version in 1979. The success was the 50th in a row for the Ariane 5.

For other Ariane 5 Articles, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/ariane-5/

The Ariane 5 carried a total payload performance of approximately 10,180 kg. – which includes the HYLAS 2 and Intelsat 20 satellites, along with hardware for the launcher’s dual-payload deployment system. This was a new record for Ariane 5 ECA’s payload performance to GTO.

Weighing some 3,300 kg. at liftoff, the HYLAS 2 spacecraft was produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Virginia for European satellite operator Avanti Communications.

The satellite is equipped with 24 Ka-band transponders with one steerable beam and will provide data capacity to telecommunications, enterprise and government customers in Europe, the Middle East and portions of Africa.

Along with its active Ka-band user beams, the satellite sports six gateway beams and will produce approximately 5.0 kilowatts of payload electrical power.

“HYLAS 2 introduces a new market application for Orbital’s commercial communications satellites, bringing broadband communications into the range of space systems we offer our customers,” said Mr. Christopher Richmond, Orbital’s Senior Vice President of Communications Satellites.

“The HYLAS 2 spacecraft is one of the most sophisticated commercial satellites we have ever built and we are looking forward to putting it to work for our Avanti customer.”

Also lofted with HYLAS 2 on this mission was Intelsat’s Intelsat 20 satellite, which is to replace the Intelsat 7 and Intelsat 10 spacecraft in orbit, and provide a broad range of communication services for Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Asia. Intelsat 20 is riding to orbit as the upper position of the payload stack.

Intelsat are continuing their high launch pace of replenishing and expanding their on-orbit fleet, using multiple launch vehicle systems and providers.

Weighing approximately 6,090 kg. at launch, Intelsat 20 was built for international satellite operator Intelsat by Space Systems/Loral of the United States, based on its 1300-series platform.

This relay platform’s C- and Ku-band payload is optimized for high-power distribution of video, voice and data network services.

This flight marked the fourth for Arianespace’s heavy-lift launcher in 2012. Europe’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle for the International Space Station was orbited by Ariane 5 in March, and the JCSAT-13 and VINASAT-2 spacecraft were lofted during May.

The EchoStar XVII telecommunications and MSG-3 meteorological satellites were orbited by the vehicle earlier this month.

(Images via Arianespace).

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Ariane 5 ECA Mission:

The Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range – was used for this flight. The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher.

Although it has the same general architecture, a number of major changes were made to the basic structure of the Ariane 5 Generic version to increase thrust and enable it to carry heavier payloads into orbit.

Designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 tonnes into GTO, this increased capacity allows the Ariane 5 ECA to handle dual launches of very large satellites.

Given Arianespace now enjoys a full family of launch vehicles – following the introduction of the Soyuz and Vega rockets at the Spaceport – the company has adopted a new numbering system to identify its missions with these three vehicles.

As such, Ariane 5 flights carry the “VA” designation, followed by the flight number.  The “V” is for “vol,” the French word for “flight,” while the “A” represents the use of an Ariane launch vehicle.

With the introduction of Soyuz at the Spaceport in 2011, Arianespace missions from South America with the medium-lift workhorse launcher are being designated “VS,” while flights with the lightweight Vega vehicle are referenced as “VV”, following its successful debut this year.

For this mission, the designation was VA207 – signifying the 207th flight of an Ariane family launcher. It was the third Ariane 5 mission in 2012.

Ariane 5 delivered a payload lift performance of more than 9,600 kg. during the mission, which included a combined total of over 7,500 kg. for the EchoStar XVII and MSG-3 spacecraft, plus the launch vehicle’s dual-passenger dispenser system and satellite integration hardware.

EchoStar XVII – also known as “Jupiter” – is based on Space Systems/Loral’s powerful SS/L 1300 satellite platform, and will deliver broadband services to consumers, businesses and government customers across North America. It employs a multi-spot beam, bent-pipe Ka-band architecture that provides significant additional capacity for Hughes.

The launch was scheduled for June 19. However, Space Systems/Loral requested additional checks to take place on their spacecraft, causing a slip to July 5.

With a liftoff mass of approximately 2,000 kg., MSG-3 will operate in geostationary orbit after its deployment by Ariane 5, providing highly detailed imagery of Europe, the North Atlantic and Africa for use by meteorologists and national weather forecasters.

MSG-3 was positioned atop Ariane 5′s core cryogenic stage during activity inside the Spaceport’s launch vehicle Final Assembly Building – placing it as the lower passenger in the dual-payload “stack,” was released second in the flight sequence after its co-passenger, EchoStar XVII.

Arianespace’s mission with MSG-3 marked the ninth Meteosat-series satellite launched by Ariane vehicles from French Guiana since 1981 for operation in geostationary orbit.

A total of six Meteosat First Generation meteorological platforms were orbited on flights performed in June 1981, June 1988, March 1989, March 1991, November 1993, and September 1997.  This was followed by the two second-generation spacecraft deployed in August 2002 and December 2005.

The first in the series of the second-generation spacecraft, MSG-1 – also known as Meteosat-8 – was launched in 2002. MSG-2 followed three years later. Both have been successful in continuing the legacy of the operational meteorological satellites that started with Meteosat-1 in 1977.

Produced by a Thales Alenia Space-led European consortium, MSG-3 will be operated by EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).

The satellite’s primary instrument is the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infra-red Imager (SEVIRI), which builds images of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere in 12 different wavelengths once every 15 minutes. Four of the 12 SEVIRI channels look at sunlight reflected from the Earth’s surface and clouds, while the remaining eight are designed to monitor thermal infrared wavelengths.
 
Also carried on MSG-3 is the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument for measurements of radiation originating on Earth from the Sun. The payload is completed by a communications package for the rebroadcast of EUMETSAT data to end users’ ground stations, as well as a search and rescue transponder for the international Cospas-Sarsat program.

The last of the series, MSG-4, is planned for launch in 2015.

This mission follows the May 15 launch of two telecommunications satellites for Asia: JCSAT-13 and VINASAT-2; and the March 23 liftoff with Europe’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle for servicing of the International Space Station (ISS).

(Images via Arianespace)

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Ariane 5 ECA Mission:

The Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range – was used for this flight. The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher.

Although it has the same general architecture, a number of major changes were made to the basic structure of the Ariane 5 Generic version to increase thrust and enable it to carry heavier payloads into orbit.

Designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 tonnes into GTO, this increased capacity allows the Ariane 5 ECA to handle dual launches of very large satellites.

Given Arianespace now enjoys a full family of launch vehicles – following the introduction of the Soyuz and Vega rockets at the Spaceport – company has adopted a new numbering system to identify its missions with these three vehicles.

As such, Ariane 5 flights carry the “VA” designation, followed by the flight number.  The “V” is for “vol,” the French word for “flight,” while the “A” represents the use of an Ariane launch vehicle.  As a result, this latest mission will carry the “VA206″ reference, for the 206th launch of an Ariane since this family of vehicles began operations in 1979.

With the introduction of Soyuz at the Spaceport in 2011, Arianespace missions from South America with the medium-lift workhorse launcher are being designated “VS,” while flights with the lightweight Vega vehicle are referenced as “VV”, following its successful debut this year.

This was the second Ariane 5 flight of 2012, with a payload performance of over 8,300 kg. – which included a combined mass of more than 7,500 kg. for JCSAT-13 and VINASAT-2, along with the launcher’s dual-payload dispenser system and associated integration hardware.

Riding as the upper passenger in Ariane 5′s payload “stack” is JCSAT-13, which was released at approximately 26 minutes into the flight.

“This launch marks a historic company milestone,” said Kevin Bilger, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager of Global Communications Systems. 

“Delivery of our 100th and 101st commercial geostationary satellites exemplifies the dedication of the men and women, past and present, who continue to deliver affordable, high quality advanced communications systems to meet our customers’ mission needs. 

“I salute all of our employees, supplier partners and customers who made this moment possible.”

JCSAT-13 will be utilized by SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, the broadcasting and communications services provider created through the merger of JSAT Corporation, SKY Perfect Communications, Inc., and Space Communications Corporation. 

This telecommunications spacecraft will be positioned in geostationary orbit at 124 degrees East  from which it is to provide direct TV broadcast links to all of Japan as a replacement satellite for JCSAT-4A, and also will meet satellite relay coverage demands in Southeast Asia.

JCSAT-13 is configured with an all Ku-band payload, comprising 44 high-power communication channels with uplink and downlink coverage. It has been designed to operate for 15 years.

Arianespace’s most recent mission with a satellite for this operator was BSAT-3c/JCSAT-110R, orbited last August by an Ariane 5.

VINASAT-2 – which is to be operated by Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group – was deployed from Ariane 5′s lower passenger position at just over 36 minutes after liftoff.

From an orbital position of 131.8 degrees East, this satellite will provide fixed satellite service to Vietnam and neighboring countries.

This satellite features 24 Ku-band channels providing uplink and downlink coverage, and also has a design life of 15 years – although it is carrying additional fuel reserves to maximize its maneuvering longevity.

VINASAT-2 is follows Arianespace’s launch of VINASAT-1 as Vietnam’s first communications satellite – which was lofted by an Ariane 5 in April 2008.

Both payloads on this heavy-lift launch are Lockheed Martin spacecraft based on the company’s A2100 geosynchronous spacecraft series. They are the milestone 100th and 101st commercial geostationary communications satellites built by Lockheed Martin.

“Lockheed Martin is extremely proud to share this historic moment with SKY Perfect JSAT and VNPT, both of whom continue to entrust Lockheed Martin with their satellite communications solutions,” added Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems president Joseph Rickers. 

“Our team is now focused on executing our integrated orbit-raising plan and we look forward to hand-over, when these two satellites can begin their many years of service for our customers.”

This mission marked Ariane 5′s return to satellite launching, following the heavy-lift workhorse’s March 23 orbiting of Europe’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for resupply of the International Space Station (ISS).

(Images via Arianespace).

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Fighting For Liberty:

Although Liberty is less known than the Falcon 9/Dragon combination – a duo that have already launched into space – ATK are pushing forward at a pace to bring their commercial crew transportation system into the running for returning the US’ domestic launch capability, lost after the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet.

Currently working with NASA via an unfunded Space Act Agreement (SAA) – as opposed to being funded by the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) process – the pressure is firmly on the shoulders of all the suitors interested in transporting Americans to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to produce an attractive package of hardware and schedules, pressure that has been increased, due to some political wishes to downselect to a single NASA partner.

When the Liberty launch vehicle was announced, it was noted the rocket would be capable of launching most of the spacecraft put forward for commercial LEO operations. However, it lacked a commitment from one of the other commercial companies, unlike the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V, a vehicle that has since been confirmed as the rocket of choice for SNC’s Dream Chaser, Boeing’s CST-100 and initially Blue Origin’s spacecraft.

Now the game has changed again, with ATK announcing it has found a spacecraft to pair up with Liberty, a capsule that is literally part of what is now a complete transportation system. That capsule is their own spacecraft, thus the entire stack will be known as Liberty.

This complete system, including the spacecraft, launch abort system, launch vehicle, and ground and mission operations, is being designed from inception to meet NASA’s human-rating requirements.

Liberty will hit the ground running, with the schedule showing the first of potentially several test flights will begin in 2014, launching from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) with L2 information (L2 Link) claiming the test flights will take place from Pad 39B on a modified Mobile Launch Platform (MLP). As such, the test version of Liberty will be the first vehicle to launch from KSC since Atlantis rode uphill on STS-135.

The full scale Liberty is currently designed to launch off the former Ares I Mobile Launcher (ML). However, that has since been repurposed for use with the Space Launch System (SLS), meaning Liberty will either require an additional ML or a redesigned MLP from the former Space Shuttle Program (SSP).

In 2015, Liberty is scheduled to make its debut crew flight, a schedule ATK claim will support crewed missions for NASA and other potential customers by 2016, with a price-per-seat that is projected to be lower than the cost on the Russian Soyuz rocket.

Liberty – First Stage:

KSC will be no stranger to the first stage of the Liberty launch vehicle, given it utilizes a Solid Rocket Booster (or Motor in this scenario), a key element of Shuttle heritage, bar its additional muscle of being a five segment, as opposed to a four segment, motor.

(Image taken from the amazing 220mb super slow-mo DM-3 Five Seg Motor Ground Test Video – available in L2 – LINK).

With the appearance of an Ares I – given it works on the same aerodynamic design principle – the first stage is the same design that was tested during the DM-3 test in Utah, and is the same motor that will initially provide the bulk of the lift-off power for the SLS, with two five segment boosters set to debut with the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) in 2017.

“Our goal in providing Liberty is to build the safest and most robust system that provides the shortest time to operation using tested and proven human-rated components,” said Kent Rominger, vice president and program manager for Liberty.

“Liberty will give the U.S. a new launch capability with a robust business case and a schedule that we expect will have us flying crews in just three years, ending our dependence on Russia.

“Liberty will enable a successful commercial space program and result in a globally competitive capability that America doesn’t have today. This program is changing the way we do business and can also result in a positive change to government programs.”

During the Constellation Program, the five segment motor was observed as suffering from the phenomenon of Thrust Oscillation (TO) during the Ares I development process – requiring additional hardware to “dampen” the effects on the crew riding atop of the vehicle.

However, the DM ground tests – and their vast array of instrumentation, aimed at gathering more detailed data on RSRM (Reusable Solid Rocket Motor) behaviour during the first stage of launch, on the final shuttle missions – have proven TO to be less than expected.

Notably, the Liberty Upper Stage is also a different design when compared to the Ares I Upper Stage, further decoupling the potential TO effects, especially as TO was heavily related to the Ares I stack in the configuration with the Orion crew vehicle.

Liberty – Upper Stage:

Liberty’s Upper Stage is the Core Stage (EPC) of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle used by Arianespace, which will be supplied under contract with EADS/Astrium North America.

The latest generation of the Ariane 5 is based on an evolution of the Vulcain engine that powers the cryogenic core stage. This evolution, called Vulcain 2, provides an increased thrust through an overall mixture ratio and liquid oxygen mass flow increase.

The EPC stage is 5.4 m in diameter and 31 m long on the Ariane 5. It is powered by one Vulcain 2 engine that burns liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) stored in two tanks separated with a common bulkhead. The LO2 tank is pressurized by gaseous helium and the LH2 one by a part of gaseous hydrogen coming from the regenerative circuit.

The Vulcain 2 engine develops 1390 kN maximum thrust in vacuum. Its nozzle is gimballed for pitch and yaw control.

The engine is turbopump-fed and regeneratively cooled. The thrust chamber is fed by two independent turbopumps using a single gas generator. A cluster of GH2 thrusters are used for roll control. The engine utilizes two turbo-pumps, driven by a gas generator, and sports a GHe pressurization system for the LOX tank and GH2 for LH2 tank.

Ignition of the engine is obtained by pyrotechnic igniters and occurs nine seconds before lift-off in order to check that’s it’s functioning properly. It is understood that this core stage on the Liberty Upper Stage can be air-started, as would be required during its role with Liberty.

“Astrium is proud to be part of the ATK Liberty team and to provide our proven  second stage, which is powered by the Vulcain 2 engine, as an integral part of this exciting next-generation launch system,” said John Schumacher, CEO of Astrium in North America, an EADS North America company.

“Initially, we will ship the second stage to the Kennedy Space Center where it will be integrated by the skilled workforce there. However, once Liberty’s business base is established in the U.S. market, we envisage Liberty upper stage manufacturing in the United States.”

The configuration of a solid first stage and liquid second stage lowers the likelihood of failure, claimed ATK, and enables a flight path with total abort coverage, maximizing survival for the crew in the unlikely event of an anomaly requiring an abort.

Liberty’s performance of 44,500 pounds to LEO enables the system to launch both crew and cargo and also serve non-crewed markets including ISS cargo up and down mass, commercial space station servicing, US government satellite launch, and future endeavors.

Liberty – Crew Capsule:

In announcing the Liberty spacecraft confirmation as part of the final design package, ATK claim their design leverages design work performed at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) on the composite crew module and launch abort system, for which ATK was a contractor, and also the service module design work performed by NASA Glenn Research Center.

Although its birth fell under the radar, ATK provided details on this spacecraft back in 2009, as the company delivered a full-scale, crew module structure made of composite materials to NASA for structural testing.

The Composite Crew Module (CCM) is a unique capsule design that has the potential to reduce the overall weight of future manned launch vehicles, a unique design in that it was specifically built to resemble a space capsule.  

Full-scale structural testing was performed at NASA LaRC to determine the strength and viability of the composite structure. During the destructive testing, the CCM was placed under load conditions similar to those observed during launch, on-orbit, landing, and abort scenarios.

Led by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), ATK was part of a team of NASA and industry experts who designed and fabricated the CCM to demonstrate how composite materials could be used to develop a pressurized space capsule.

Constructed in two primary sections, the upper and lower shells are joined together with a splice joint and cured using out-of-autoclave technology.  The bonding of the composite assemblies and integration of metal hardware were achieved by combining existing technology and ATK’s innovative manufacturing processes.

“We believe that no other offering can match Liberty’s safety, spacious spacecraft, customer service and performance,” Mr Rominger added. “These traits enable the Liberty business to provide the best commercial space flight experience.”

Liberty – MLAS:

Although only referenced by name in ATK’s release on the Liberty announcement, the Max Abort Launch System – or MLAS (named after Maxime (Max) Faget) – is another element from the cancelled Constellation Program.

Although it was never publicly admitted, this system was often mentioned by sources as a potential solution towards a growing movement associated with cancelling Ares I and human rating the Ares V, as the Constellation Program began to falter.

It also had the backing of then-NASA administrator Mike Griffin, which would not have come as a surprise, given MLAS was an evolution of two of the original three LAS concepts studied by Constellation, one of which made the LAS trade study in 2007 via a rather amusing hand-drawn sketch, created in 2006.

The MLAS concept combines the boost protection cover of the service module mounted escape system with the command module mounted motors, in turn reducing the overall height of the vehicle – something desired by the Ares V HR advocates, who were worried about being able to stack and rollout the vehicle – with a LAS tower – under the height restrictions of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) doors.

The MLAS utilizes a ‘bullet’ boost protection cover over the capsule to house four Mk 70 Terrier solid motors separation motors – as opposed to locating them on a tower above the capsule.

Two orientation parachutes are attached to the top of the fairing to re-orient the vehicle, with the blunt heat shield to aid in fairing separation.

The design resulted in the aborting vehicle re-orienting immediately after abort motor cut off during a pad abort, but would fly with its nose “into the wind” on a mid-altitude abort. The orientation parachutes would then activate quickly before the fairing separation.

In the event of a high altitude abort, the fairing would come off immediately, in order to allow the Command Module Reaction Control System (RCS) to stabilize the vehicle for entry.

The design of MLAS changed several times during its development, gaining fins for stability during later cycles, becoming more in line with another hand drawn sketch.

This time the artist was former Constellation head Scott “Doc” Horowitz – as seen in the second of two MLAS presentations acquired by L2 (Link to Presentations) – over a year after Mr Griffin’s conceptual design.

The final version of the MLAS flight test vehicle weighed in at over 45,000 lbs and was over 33 feet tall – and this vehicle actually got to fly for real, after being shipped to Wallops for its one and only hop off the ground.

The pad abort test proper began seven seconds after burnout of some specially attached solid motors, as the vehicle rose into the Virginia morning sky at 6:25am local time on July 8, 2009.

Video of the launch showed a perfect test, as the vehicle rose on a stable flight path, before reorientation and further stabilization, followed by crew module simulator separation from the MLAS fairing, and parachute recovery of the crew module simulator.

Other tests were planned for MLAS, including a high altitude abort = which will involve the fairing being released immediately after abort is called, in order to allow the Command Module Reaction Control System (RCS) to stabilize the vehicle for entry. However, the program was put on the backburner, as the Constellation Program found itself cancelled.

It is not yet known if the Liberty program will carry out further MLAS tests, given NASA’s exploration effort relating to the system is now over – with the Space Launch System (SLS) that will launch Orion set to use the previously chosen Line Tandem Tractor (Tower) design as its LAS.

Liberty – Jobs:

Liberty’s announcement also noted its industry base, a key selling point in this post-Shuttle era where thousands of skilled engineers lost their jobs. As such, the ATK release claimed the Liberty system would sustain thousands of jobs across the United States including Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.

Citing the system’s “low remaining development cost” will accelerate the time to market, in turn meeting NASA’s requirements, the system will provide a quicker return on investment to outside entities

One of the major players in Liberty – Lockheed Martin – is providing crew interface systems design, subsystem selection, assembly, integration and mission operations support for the Liberty spacecraft. These subsystems could include avionics, guidance navigation and control, propulsion systems, environmental control system, docking system and other components.

“Combining Lockheed Martin’s and ATK’s decades of human spaceflight experience to create the Liberty space vehicle will help ensure America’s crew access to the International Space Station – sooner rather than later,” said Scott Norris, Lockheed Martin Lead, Liberty Program.

“We look forward to our role supporting Liberty as it delivers on a highly-effective cost solution for NASA crew and for commercial missions.”

Continuing to work under the ongoing SAA, as part – albeit unfunded – of the CCDev-2 program, the team has successfully completed four milestones. The next major milestone is a structural test of the second stage tank, to be conducted at Astrium in June.

“Working with the NASA team under the SAA has provided significant benefit to the development of the Liberty crew transportation system,” added Mr Rominger.

The Liberty team will be working with NASA centers to further leverage lessons learned, engineering expertise test, launch facilities and mission operations, including Kennedy, Johnson, Marshall, Langley, Glenn, Ames and Stennis.

Additional subcontractors for Liberty include Safran/Snecma, which provides the Vulcain 2 engine; Safran/Labinal, which provides second stage wiring; L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics, which provides first stage, abort and telemetry system avionics, as well as second stage telemetry and abort system integration prior to launch at KSC; and Moog Inc, which provides thrust vector control and propulsion control.

(Images: Via L2, NASA, Arianespace and ATK)  (NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles. 

(Click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/ - to view over 5000gbs of exclusive content, and support NASASpaceflight.com)

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Ariane 5 ECA Launch Overview:

The Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) – the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range - was used for this flight.

The Ariane 5 ECA is an improved Ariane 5 Generic launcher. Although it has the same general architecture, a number of major changes were made to the basic structure of the Ariane 5 Generic version to increase thrust and enable it to carry heavier payloads into orbit.

Designed to place payloads weighing up to 9.6 tonnes into GTO, this increased capacity allows the Ariane 5 ECA to handle dual launches of very large satellites.

As Arianespace prepares for the expansion of its launcher family with the introduction of Soyuz and Vega at the Spaceport, the company has adopted a new numbering system to identify its missions with these three vehicles.

Ariane 5 flights will carry the “VA” designation, followed by the flight number.  The “V” is for “vol,” the French word for “flight,” while the “A” represents the use of an Ariane launch vehicle.  As a result, this latest mission will carry the “VA204″ reference, for the 204th launch of an Ariane since this family of vehicles began operations in 1979.

With the introduction of Soyuz at the Spaceport in 2011 – starting with the launch of the Galileo IOV-M1 satellites – Arianespace missions from South America with the medium-lift workhorse launcher will be designated “VS,” while flights with the lightweight Vega vehicle are to be referenced as “VV.”

SES-2 was positioned on the launcher’s core section as the lower payload, allowing the “stack” to be completed with installation of the Arabsat-5C/SYLDA/fairing combination atop it.

During the flight sequence, the payload fairing will be jettisoned first, followed by deployment of Arabsat-5C. The SYLDA dispenser is then released, allowing the subsequent separation of SES-2 to complete the Arianespace mission.

The multi-mission Arabsat-5C was built for the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat), and is to provide capacity in both the C- and Ka-bands for a range of communications services.  To be operated from Arabsat’s 20 deg. East orbital position.

Arabsat-5C was built by EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space in a joint program for the satellite’s assembly and in-orbit delivery.  As the lead partner, Astrium supplied the Eurostar E3000 platform, with responsibility for assembling and testing the spacecraft. Thales Alenia Space designed and built the communications payload, which integrates C-band and Ka-band transponders.

The spacecraft has an estimated launch mass of 4,630 kg.

Its SES-2 co-passenger for the Ariane 5 flight was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation of the U.S. for SES WORLD SKIES, and is a hybrid C- and Ku-band spacecraft that will serve North America from an orbital slot of 87 deg. West. 

This platform has an estimated mass at liftoff of 3,152 kg., and it also carries the Commercially Hosted InfraRed Payload (CHIRP) for the U.S. Air Force – which integrates a wide-field of view sensor in the satellite.

The SES-2 satellite is based on Orbital’s GEOStar 2.4 bus, the company’s largest and most powerful communications satellite.  It carries 24 active C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders of 36 MHz capacity.  Six of the channels in each band can be cross-strapped to the opposite band, enabling new service capability.

The SES-2 satellite will generate approximately 5.0 kilowatts of payload power and will have two 2.3 meter deployable reflectors.

“We are looking forward to the upcoming launch and the completion of the in-orbit testing of the SES-2 spacecraft for our customer,” said Mr. Christopher Richmond, Orbital’s Senior Vice President and head of its communications satellite business unit.

“SES-2 will join four other Orbital-built GEOStar 2 spacecraft in the SES fleet, including SES-1, SES-3, NSS-9 and AMC-21, all of which continue to operate with high reliability, enabling SES to provide communications services to its customers around the world.”

CHIRP program manager Brent Armand added, “Orbital’s critical role in establishing the contract framework, the engineering processes and procedures, and the standard hosted payload interface to be first used by CHIRP, is helping pave the way for a new business value proposition for our government and international customers. 

“Taking advantage of the regularity and reliability of the commercial space industry to deploy new-generation technologies in a timely way and at an affordable total mission cost is becoming an attractive option for government space mission planners.”

The flight had been delayed for supplementary checks on the engine that powers Ariane 5′s cryogenic upper stage, which were performed as part of Arianespace’s commitment to quality and reliability.

“As we do not tolerate any defect on our launchers, there was no hesitation on our part in delaying this upcoming flight to ensure the highest level of quality for a successful mission,” said Arianespace Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall.

“With the launch sector’s ‘devastation’ caused by mission failures of other vehicles, Ariane 5 stands out with its track record of 45 consecutive successes.”

The launch suffered one further 24 hour delay due to industrial action in the local area.

(Images via Arianespace)

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