Ariane Mission Log: Flight 133 A dress rehearsal validates the mission’s readiness

A dress rehearsal for Flight 133 was performed today, validating the readiness of the Ariane 4, its payload and the mission infrastructure for the October 6 launch.
 
The dress rehearsal brought together the mission’s various operational teams at Europe’s Spaceport, and included a simulated countdown to the point of the Ariane 4’s first stage engine ignition. Also involved in the rehearsal were the downrange stations that are to track Ariane 4 during its flight.
 
Arianespace is using an Ariane 44L version of Ariane 4 for this flight. The Ariane 44L is the Ariane 4 configuration with two large liquid strap-on boosters that augment the first stage’s thrust at liftoff and during the initial ascent.
 
The launch vehicle performance requirement for Flight 133 is approximately 3,570 kg., of which 3,530 kg. represents the N-SAT-110 satellite’s mass at liftoff.
 
The Japanese spacecraft will be used by Space Communications Corporation and JSAT Corporation for television, Internet and data transmission services across Japan. Once in orbit, the satellite will have a span of 26.4 meters with its solar arrays deployed.
 
N-SAT-110 will operate from an orbital position of 110 deg. E, a location that places the satellite above the Indonesian archipelago.