ESA TV coverage of Ariane 5 ECA – V164 launch

Ariane flight V164 is scheduled for launch on Saturday 12 February from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The launch window opens at 19:49 GMT and closes at 21:10 GMT. This is the second launch of Ariane-5 ECA able to place 10 tonnes into GTO orbit. The higher performance is due to a more powerful Vulcain-2 first stage engine and a cryogenic upper stage.

The first Ariane 5 ECA Flight failed in December 2002. Since then, the Vulcain-2 nozzle extension was redesigned and tested and an exhaustive review of the whole launcher conducted.

Flight 164 will carry three payloads: the XTAR-EUR telecommunications satellite; Sloshsat-FLEVO, an experimental mini-satellite, and the Maqsat B2 telemetry/video imaging package

The ESA TV coverage is as follows:

10 Feb 11:00-11:30 GMT Ariane 5 V164 Campaign B-roll

11 Feb 20:00-20:30 GMT Ariane 5 V164 Roll-out to launch pad B-roll

12 Feb 16:35-16:45 GMT Ariane 5 V164 ready for launch

12 Feb 19:25-22:00 GMT Ariane 5 V164 launch coverage. This is an Arianespace production, the signal of which is available to broadcasters only, upon prior request.

15 Feb 10:15-10:30 GMT Ariane 5 V 164 launch highlights

Please note that several different satellite paths are used. Details are posted on the ESA TV Web site and will be updated as required.

For further information and a daily update of the transmission schedule, visit our website at http://television.esa.int. For all enquires, contact Claus Habfast, Tel +31 71 565 3838, Fax +31 71 565 6340, e-mail claus.habfast@esa.int.

With kind regards,

ESA TV Service