May 29, 2017

Next Ariane 5 mission set to launch ViaSat-2 and Eutelsat 172B satellites

Thursday 1 June, Ariane 5 will lift off from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG), Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, to place two new telecommunications satellites into orbit: ViaSat-2, built by Boeing for operator ViaSat Inc., and Eutelsat 172B, built by Airbus Defence & Space for operator Eutelsat. For its third flight in 2017, its 93rd in total and the sixth launch of the year from the CSG, Ariane 5 will be setting a new performance record for total payload weight orbited, carrying 10,865 kilograms with a net mass at lift-off of 9,969 kilograms for the two satellites.

With a launch mass of 6,418 kilograms, ViaSat-2 is a telecommunications satellite built by Boeing in El Segundo, California, for operator ViaSat Inc. ViaSat-2 will bring considerable improvements in terms of speed, lower costs and extended broadband coverage within its footprint, which includes North and Central America, plus the Caribbean, northern South America, and aeronautical and maritime routes in the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe. It has an expected service lifetime of more than 14 years.

With a launch mass of 3,551 kilograms, Eutelsat 172B is the first all-electric telecommunications satellite, built by Airbus Defence & Space for operator Eutelsat. Its innovative technology is built around the new Eurostar E3000 EOR (Electric Orbit Raising) spacecraft bus. Eutelsat 172B will deliver increased satellite capacity for fast-growing applications that include in-flight and maritime connectivity, cellular backhaul, corporate networks, video distribution and government services, providing exceptional Asia-Pacific coverage over land and sea, from Alaska to Australia. It has an expected service lifetime of more than 15 years.

The launch of Ariane 5 will be carried live on
ariane.cnes.fr/live via the Dailymotion video platform

Check out the photos of the VA 237 flight campaign at the Guiana Space Centre at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cnes/albums

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Contacts

Pascale Bresson    Tél. +33(0)1 44 76 75 39   pascale.bresson@cnes.fr
Fabienne Lissak     Tél. +33(0)1 44 76 78 37    fabienne.lissak@cnes.fr
Raphaël Sart          Tél. +33(0)1 44 76 74 51     raphael.sart@cnes.fr