Flight 132’s Ariane 4 is fueled

The launch campaign for Flight 132 entered its final hours today as fuelling of the Ariane 4 began this morning in the ELA-2 launch zone.
 
Using the standard procedure for the day prior to launch, fueling of the Ariane’s second started at 7:00 a.m., followed the first stage fueling. The process was to be completed by approximately 11:00 p.m. tonight.
 
Tomorrow will be a busy day, with the go-ahead for Flight 132’s final countdown at 14 hours, 30 minutes before the scheduled liftoff. The launch window opens at 7:33 p.m. local Kourou time, and continues through 8:47 p.m.
 
Flight 132’s payload is Eutelsat W1 – the 13th out of 14 satellites Europe’s Eutelsat telecommunications satellite organization has entrusted to the Ariane launch system.
 
The W1 satellite was built by Astrium in Toulouse, France and will join Eutelsat’s family of broadband satellites that provide multimedia transmission services throughout Europe. Positioned at 10 deg. East, the satellite’s footprint covers Europe and also has a steerable beam.
 
Flight 132 is Arianespace’s sixth launch in 2000, and is part of the accelerated mission rate for the remainder of the year that will see the liftoff of an Ariane 4 or Ariane 5 approximately every three weeks. Tomorrow’s mission will use the Ariane 44P version of Ariane 4, which has four solid strap-on boosters added to the first stage for augmented thrust during liftoff and initial ascent.