Ariane 5 Orbits Dual Satellite Payload
Arianespace today
successfully launched two communications satellites: Stellat 5, built by
Alcatel Space for the new Stellat joint venture; and N-STAR c, produced by
American manufacturers Orbital Sciences Corporation and Lockheed Martin
Commercial Space Systems for Japanese telecom giant NTT DoCoMo.
This flight was the eighth successful mission in 2002 for Arianespace. The
commercial launch services company’s fast-paced schedule has used six Ariane 4
and two Ariane 5 boosters to carry 10 payloads in just five and a half months.
Flight 153 was the ninth commercial launch of the Ariane 5 launcher,
confirming Arianespace’s position as the benchmark launch provider for
European, American and Japanese operators.
Arianespace has signed up eight new payloads so far this year, a further
recognition of its top-flight service quality.
Arianespace’s next mission
The next Ariane mission, designated Flight 155, is slated for late August
2002. An Ariane 5 will boost two satellites into geostationary transfer orbit:
Atlantic Bird(TM) 1 for Alenia Spazio, and Eumetsat’s MSG 1 meteorological
spacecraft.
Flight 153 at a glance
Flight 153 was performed by an Ariane 5 launched from Europe’s Spaceport
in Kourou, French Guiana. Liftoff was on July 5, 2002 at 8:22 pm local time in
Kourou (11H22 Universal Time, 7:22 pm in Washington, DC, and on July 6 at 1:22
am in Paris).
Provisional parameters at injection of the storable propellant upper stage
were:
Perigee: 578.9 km for a target of 579.5 km (+/- 4 km)
Apogee: 35,855 km for a target of 35,881 km (+/- 260 km)
Inclination: 5.49 degrees for a target of 5.50 degrees (+/- 0.07 degrees)
Stellat 5 is the first satellite to be deployed by Stellat, a joint
venture formed in January 2001 by France Telecom (70%) and Europe*Star (30%),
a subsidiary of Alcatel Space and Loral Space & Communications.
The Stellat 5 satellite was built by Alcatel Space, using the Spacebus
3000 B3 platform. It will be positioned at 5 degrees West, and is equipped
with 35 Ku-band and 10 C-band transponders. Stellat 5 will help bolster the IP
and video transmission services offered by France Telecom and Europe*Star in
Europe, Africa and the Middle East — especially Internet access with a
satellite return channel.
N-STAR c, a mobile telephony satellite, was launched for the American
companies Orbital Sciences Corp. and Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems
as part of a turnkey contract with Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo.
The satellite was built by prime contractor Lockheed Martin Commercial
Space Systems of Newtown, Pennsylvania, which supplied the payload and was
responsible for integration. Dulles, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp.
provided the platform and ground facilities, and will handle satellite
positioning in orbit. Fitted with 20 S-band transponders and one C-band
transponder, N-STAR c will expand the mobile telephony services offered by NTT
DoCoMo throughout Japan.
Flight 153’s Ariane 5 carried the inscription “Ville de Charleroi” on the
heavy-lift launcher’s payload fairing. The recognition of this Belgium town is
part of a promotion for the Community of Ariane Cities. Charleroi, and local
space hardware manufacturer Alcatel ETCA, are among the founding members of
this association.
The Alcatel ETCA company is deeply involved in this Ariane 153 launch. On
the Stellat 5 satellite, the company has delivered the main power conditioning
equipment, as well as the solar panel motor control electronic and several
electronic power conditioners (EPC) for the Travelling Wave Tube Amplifiers
(TWTA).
On the launcher itself, Alcatel ETCA has provided safety electronic
equipment and pyrotechnic orders switching equipment, whose function is to
command the separation of the solid state boosters, as well as the release of
the shroud protecting the satellites.
For more information on the Community of Ariane Cities, see the website:
http://www.villes-ariane.org .
About Arianespace
Arianespace is the commercial launch services leader, holding more than 50
percent of the international market for satellites launched to geostationary
transfer orbit (GTO). Created in 1980 as the world’s first commercial space
transportation company, Arianespace has signed contracts for the launch of
more than 240 satellite payloads. For further information, see the
Arianespace Web site at http://www.arianespace.com.
