Ariane Flight 154: Another Ariane 4 moves to the launch zone

Flight 154 entered its final preparation phase today as its Ariane 4 rolled
out from the assembly building and moved to the launch zone. The mission is
scheduled for an early morning liftoff from the Spaceport on September 6,
carrying the Intelsat 906 satellite built by Space Systems/Loral.

Flight 154 will use one of the last Ariane 4s before this workhorse launcher
family is succeeded by the new-generation Ariane 5.

Today’s rollout followed the procedure used many times before, with Ariane 4
emerging from the vertical assembly building on its mobile launch table.

A special multi-purpose tug towed the table and launcher along a dual rail
track, arriving at the launch zone’s fixed umbilical mast. Once the table
was locked in position, a large service tower was moved into position,
covering the entire launcher and providing the cleanroom area for
installation of the Intelsat payload and protective fairing atop Ariane 4.

The mission utilizes the 44L version of Ariane 4, which is equipped with
four large liquid strap-on boosters to augment the thrust at liftoff and
initial ascent.

Flight 154 will be the 22nd launch of an Intelsat satellite by Ariane, and
its Intelsat 906 payload is the sixth in the new-generation Intelsat IX
family of advanced telecommunications spacecraft.