Status Report

Assembly of Ariane 5’s lower portion is completed

By SpaceRef Editor
September 16, 2004
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Integration of the vehicle equipment bay atop Flight 164’s Ariane 5 ECA has
been accomplished at the Spaceport, completing the launcher’s basic buildup.

The Ariane 5 will undergo routine checkout of the integrated vehicle, and
will then be ready for its transfer to the Spaceport’s Final Assembly
Building where the payload will be installed.

Flight 164 uses the Ariane 5 ECA version, which has increased performance to
deliver a 10-metric ton payload into geostationary transfer orbit.

The upcoming mission will carry two passengers: the XTAR-EUR X-band
communications satellite for the XTAR joint venture company of Loral Space &
Communications and HISDESAT, S.A.; the European-built multi-purpose test
Sloshsat/Maqsat B2 payload combination.

Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said Flight 164 is one of two Ariane 5
missions planned before the end of 2004. The other will use an Ariane 5
Generic version to loft a French governmental payload.

SpaceRef staff editor.