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