Ariane-4 flight V-132 status 21-08-2000
Mission Update for Flight 132
The campaign accelerates toward a September 6 liftoff
with the Eutelsat W1 satellite
August 21, 2000
With the ELA-2 launch zone now open following last Thursday’s successful Flight 131, the campaign for Flight 132 is accelerating toward its September 6 mission date.
Within hours of Flight 131’s nighttime Ariane 4 liftoff, preparations began in the launch zone for the arrival of the Ariane 4 vehicle for Flight 132. The ELA-2 launch site was inspected and the umbilical mast’s cryogenic arms for Ariane 4’s third stage were brought back to the closed position.
The Flight 132 launcher is undergoing final checks inside the assembly building at the ELA-2 preparation zone. Electrical tests and a checkout of the launcher’s control system will be performed tomorrow, clearing the way for the Ariane 4’s transfer out to the launch zone on Wednesday, August 23.
Riding atop its mobile launch table, the Ariane 4 will be rolled the approximately 1 kilometer distance over the dual rail line that links the ELA-2 preparation area with the launch zone. Once in the launch zone on Wednesday, the mobile table will be locked into place and the large mobile servicing tower moved into position to protect the launcher.
Pierre-Francois Benaiteau, Arianespace’s Launch Site Operations Manager for Flight 132, said the four solid strap-on boosters will be mated to Ariane 4’s first stage on Friday and Saturday, August 25-26.
The mission pace has been stepped up to compress the launch campaign activity by one day, Benaiteau added. Flight 132’s combined operations phase – during which the satellite payload is encapsulated in its payload fairing and mated to the launch vehicle – will begin on August 28.
Flight 132 will carry the Eutelsat W1 communications and multimedia satellite produced by Europe’s Astrium.
The Eutelsat W1’s Eurostar 2000+ satellite bus will have a launch mass of approximately 3,250 kg. The Flight 132 mission will use the Ariane 44P version of Ariane 4 (with its four solid strap-ons), and will be the 98th launch of an Ariane 4.
