Skynet 5C And Turksat
3A Are Fuelled For The Upcoming Ariane 5 Heavy-Lift Launch
(6 May 2008) The two payloads for
Arianespace's next Ariane 5 heavy-lift mission have been fuelled as
preparations continue for the May 23 launch from the Spaceport in French
Guiana.
Both Skynet 5C and Turksat 3A were "topped off" within
hours of each other inside the S5 satellite preparation facility, underscoring
the Spaceport's ability to keep pace with the accelerating launch rate for
Ariane 5.
Turksat 3A (courtesy: ESA, CNES, Arianespace, Photo Optique Video du CSG)
Turksat 3A is to be utilised by Ankara-based
Turksat, providing telecommunication services and direct TV broadcasting for
Turkey, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. This 3,110 kg.
satellite is based on Thales Alenia Space's Spacebus 4000B2 spacecraft design,
and carries 24 Ku-band transponders.
Skynet 5C will be the third
satellite launched by Arianespace for U.K.-based Paradigm - a military
satellite telecommunications operator that delivers resilient, survivable and
secure communications to military and government users. The Skynet 5-series
spacecraft are built by EADS Astrium, and carry hardened Ultra High and Super
High Frequency (UHF/SHF) payloads that operate with multiple, steerable spot
beams.
(source: Arianespace)
