August 25, 2016

73rd straight success for Ariane 5

Wednesday 24 August, Ariane 5 completed a flawless launch from Europe’s spaceport at the Guiana Space Centre, orbiting two telecommunications satellites, Intelsat-33e and Intelsat-36. The flight marked the European launcher’s 73rd straight success since 2003.

With a launch mass of 6,575 kilograms, Intelsat 33e (IS-33e) is a telecommunications satellite built by Boeing Space Systems for operator Intelsat. IS-33e is the second of Intelsat’s next-generation EpicNG satellites, following IS-29e, orbited in January. IS-33e will meet broadband demand for carrier-grade telecom services, enterprise networks and aeronautical connectivity, as well as certain media services. It will combine high-throughput C- and Ku-band wide and narrow spot beams across Europe, Central Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. It has a service lifetime of at least 15 years.

 With a launch mass of 3,250 kilograms, Intelsat 36 is a telecommunications satellite built by Space Systems Loral, also for Intelsat. Intelsat 36 will enhance Intelsat’s media neighbourhoods serving the South African and Indian Ocean region, supporting Ku-band services for MultiChoice, the leading DTH platform in South Africa. The C-band payload will provide in-orbit resilience for the company’s leading video content distribution neighbourhood. The satellite has a service lifetime of at least 15 years.

Commenting on the launch, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall said: “This launch takes Ariane 5’s run of straight successes to 73, reaffirming its position as the world leader in satellite launch services. We can look on the path travelled from the first Intelsat satellite launched by Ariane 1 in October 1983 to today’s launch with pride. I would like to congratulate all of the teams to whom we owe this success, at ESA, at Arianespace, across Europe’s space industry and of course at Intelsat. I would also like to thank and congratulate CNES’s teams at the Launch Vehicles Directorate and the Guiana Space Centre for accomplishing this latest launch for Ariane 5.”

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