Mission Update: Flight 140 February 13: Ariane 5 moves to the final assembly building

Arianespace’s first Ariane 5 of 2001 moved closer to launch today when it
was transferred from the integration building to the final assembly facility
at Europe’s Spaceport.
The nearly complete Ariane 5 for Flight 140 is transferred from the
integration building to the final assembly building at Europe’s Spaceport.

The Ariane 5 is basically complete, having been assembled during the past
several weeks in the integration building. There, the launcher’s central
cryogenic stage, two solid boosters, equipment bay and upper stage were
brought together and mated.

In its new location inside the final assembly building, the Ariane 5 will
receive its dual satellite payload: EUROBIRD for Europe’s Eutelsat
telecommunications organization and BSAT-2a for Japan’s Broadcasting
Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT).

Launch of the Ariane 5 is set in early March.

BSAT-2a was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation of the U.S. as the first
of a pair of direct-to-home digital television broadcasting satellites to be
deployed for B-SAT.

Eutelsat’s EUROBIRD will provide continuity for telecommunications services
currently supplied by the EUTELSAT II-F4, including business services,
satellite news gathering and television/radio program distribution. EUROBIRD
was built by an international consortium led by Alcatel Space Industries of
France as the prime contractor.