New launch success for Ariane 5 - MEASAT-3d and GSAT-24 satellites in orbit
On the night of 22 and 23 June, Ariane 5, operated by Arianespace, accomplished a flawless 113th flight from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG), Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, to orbit two telecommunications satellites: MEASAT-3d for Malaysian satellite operator MEASAT, and GSAT-24 for NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a public sector enterprise operating under the Department of Space (DOS).
The launch was the second in 2022 from the CSG and the first of the year for Ariane 5. It was also the 257th flight in the Ariane series.
With a launch mass of 5,648 kilograms, MEASAT-3d is a multi-mission telecommunications satellite. It will significantly enhance broadband speeds up to 100 Mbps per user in areas with limited or no terrestrial network throughout Malaysia, while continuing to provide redundancy and additional capacity for video distribution in HD, 4K and ultimately 8K in the Asia-Pacific region. The satellite hosts a Q/V-band payload, the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, to enable MEASAT to study propagation effects in high-rainfall regions like Malaysia and to pave the way for its next generation of satellites. The satellite is also carrying a hosted navigation payload for the Korea Augmentation Satellite System (KASS) operated by satellite-based communication services supplier KTSAT that will significantly enhance air traffic management in South Korea. With a nominal design lifetime of more than 18 years and a power capacity of 12 kW, MEASAT-3d is co-located with MEASAT-3a and MEASAT-3b at the 91.5°E orbital slot.
With a launch mass of 4,181 kilograms, GSAT-24 is a Ku-band communications satellite that will provide high-quality telecommunications and direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting services over India. With a nominal design lifetime of 15 years, it is the 11th in the fleet of geostationary telecommunication satellites owned and operated by NSIL.
After the launch, CNES Chairman & CEO Philippe Baptiste commented: “This latest successful launch for Ariane 5 naturally gives us a great deal of pride and is a huge satisfaction for the teams at CNES, ESA and Arianespace. Congratulations to our partners Airbus Defence & Space and ISRO, and of course to MEASAT and NSIL. And thank you and well done to all the CNES teams at CSG who worked to accomplish this flight.”
CONTACTS
Olivia Baumann Press Officer Tel. +33 (0)1 44 76 76 77 olivia.baumann@cnes.fr
Pascale Bresson Press Officer Tel: +33 (0)1 44 76 75 39 pascale.bresson@cnes.fr
Raphaël Sart Head of Media Tel: +33 (0)1 44 76 74 51 raphael.sart@cnes.fr
