August 20, 2015

67th straight success for Ariane 5

Thursday 20 August, Ariane 5 completed a flawless launch from Europe’s spaceport at the Guiana Space Centre, orbiting two telecommunications satellites: Eutelsat 8 West B for Eutelsat Communications and Intelsat 34 for Intelsat. The flight marked the European launcher’s 67th straight success since 2003.

With a launch mass of 5.8 tonnes, Eutelsat 8 West B is a telecommunications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space (TAS) for Eutelsat. It will deliver high-definition and ultra-high-definition direct-to-home (DTH) television services to North Africa and the Middle East, and telecommunications services to Africa and eastern South America. It has an expected service lifetime of 15 years.

With a launch mass of 3.3 tonnes, Intelsat 34 is a telecommunications satellite built by Space Systems Loral (SSL) for Intelsat. It will deliver high-speed connectivity solutions for the media and for landline and mobile broadband, as well as for business, government and military applications. Intelsat 34 will notably serve media customers in Latin America and will host a large Brazilian direct-to-home (DTH) platform. It will also provide infrastructure to cover the mobile communications requirements of maritime and aviation professionals operating in the North Atlantic. It has an expected service lifetime of 15 years.

Commenting on this latest launch success, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in accomplishing this latest launch, the 67th straight success for Ariane 5. This series of successes vindicates the decisions of Europe’s space ministers in Luxembourg last December, which were materialized on 12 August with the signature of the development contracts for Ariane 6 and its new launch complex, for which CNES is prime contractor. I would also like to thank all of the teams to whom we owe this success, at ESA, Arianespace, across Europe’s space industry and at Eutelsat and Intelsat, and to pay tribute to CNES’s teams at the Launch Vehicles Directorate and the Guiana Space Centre for completing this fourth launch for Ariane 5 this year.”


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Contacts
Pascale Bresson    Tel. +33 (0)1 44 76 75 39    pascale.bresson@cnes.fr
Alain Delrieu    Tel. +33 (0)1 44 76 74 04    alain.delrieu@cnes.fr
Julien Watelet    Tel. +33 (0)1 44 76 78 37    julien.watelet@cnes.fr

cp154-2015_-_succes_va_225_va.pdf (pdf - 32.12 KB)
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