Ariane 5 ECA:

Flight 196 is the 52nd Ariane 5 launch and the third in 2010. An Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A), the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range, will be used for this flight, launching from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Launcher 554, the 48th production phase Ariane 5, is the twenty-sixth of the 30 PA contract launchers, for which Astrium is production prime contractor. 554 is consequently the twenty-sixth complete launcher to be delivered to Arianespace, integrated and checked out under Astrium’s responsibility in the Launcher Integration Building (BIL).

Arianespace is looking to recover from the numerous issues associated with their Arabsat 5A and COMS 1 launch attempt on the 23rd, which suffered from an issue relating to the launcher subsystem late in countdown operations, resulting in a scrub for the day.

The countdown appeared to be going to plan on the following day, prior to a hold being called at T-17 seconds. With the clock reset to T-7 minutes, another attempt was made, before another hold was called at almost the same time as the earlier issue.

Lacking available time in the launch window to resolve the problem – classed as an issue with the spaceport’s launch infrastructure, a scrub was called, with the third attempt set for 48 hours later – which enjoyed an issue-free countdown, resulting with a launch at the start of the window.

For the latest campaign, Ariane 5 ECA is again using the dual-payload configuration, with the debut use of the SYLDA 5 K – seven metres high, i.e. 60 cm more than the usual SYLDA 5 A – system with an extended nose-cone (total height: 17 m), to carry the Egyptian NILESAT 201 satellite in the upper position and the African RASCOM-QAF1R satellite in the lower position.

Nilesat-201 will enable the Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat to deliver digital Direct to Home (DTH) TV and radio broadcasting and high-speed data transmission services to North Africa and the Middle East starting in September 2010.

Built on a Spacebus 4000B2 platform, Nilesat-201 is fitted with 24 Ku-band and 4 Ka-band transponders. It will be positioned at 7 degrees West longitude  and offers a design life of 15 years. Weight at launch will be about 3,200 kg, and it will generate 5.9 kW of power at end-of-life.

RASCOM-QAF1R will ensure service continuity for the operator RascomStar-QAF and its customers, by giving Africa access to advanced communications and information technologies, in particular rural telephony.

Based on the Spacebus 4000B3 platform, the RASCOM-QAF1R satellite Is equipped with 24 equivalent 36 MHz transponders in both Ku-band and C-band. The bird will provide 6.4 kW of power at end-of-life. Positioned at 2.9 degrees East longitude, RASCOM-QAF1R will cover the African continent, as well as parts of Europe and the Middle East.

RASCOM-QAF1R – which has a liftoff mass of about 3,050 kg. – will be deployed from Ariane 5′s lower passenger position at approximately 33 minutes into the flight.

The August 4 mission also will be Ariane 5′s third flight of 2010, which follows two previous dual-payload launches: the June 26 mission that orbited the Arabsat-5A and COMS spacecraft, and the May 21 launch with ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2.

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The launch marks the 42nd launch of the commercial launcher, and is the first launch on 2009, following six flights performed by Arianespace in 2008.

The heavy-lift performance for this launch was 8,511 kg., which includes 7,420 kg. for the satellites, along with the associated integration hardware and SYLDA dispenser system.

HOT BIRD 10 will be utilized by the Paris-based Eutelsat telecommunications operator, and is to be located at the company’s 13 deg. East orbital location for video broadcast services.

The spacecraft is based on EADS Astrium’s Eurostar 3000 spacecraft bus design, and is identical to the HOT BIRD 9 relay platform successfully orbited by Arianespace’s year-ending 2008 mission with Ariane 5 on December 20.

HOT BIRD 9 had a lift-off weight of 4,880 kg. and will handle cable and satellite broadcasting duties at Eutelsat’s orbital slot of 13 deg. East – where HOT BIRD 10 also is to be located.

For the upcoming Ariane 5 mission, HOT BIRD 10 will be joined by SES NEWSKIES’ NSS-9 telecommunications satellite.

Manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation using its Star 2 satellite bus, NSS-9 will have a lift-off mass of 2,230 kg.

It is designed for a minimum service life of 15 years – providing relay services for a wide range of SES NEW SKIES customers that includes broadcasters, government users, carriers across the Pacific islands and the maritime industry.

This spacecraft carries 44 active C-band transponders, and features three beams that can interconnect on a transponder-by-transponder basis: a global beam providing full coverage of the Earth visible from 183 degrees East; a West hemi-beam for coverage over Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, China, Korea and the Pacific Islands; and an East hemi-beam with coverage and connectivity to the U.S., Hawaii and Polynesia.

Joining NSS-9 and HOT BIRD 10 are two 120-kg.-class Spirale microsatellites. They are demonstrators for a French space-based optical early warning program that will become part of an anti-ballistic missile defense system, and also contribute to other operational missions such as proliferation monitoring.

The two Spirale spacecraft were installed on a ring-shaped support structure installed at the base of Ariane 5′s payload stack, and were built by Alcatel Space for Spirale program prime contractor EADS Astrium.

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