Final Countdown
Underway For Arianespace's Second Ariane 5 Mission Of 2008
(18 April 2008) The final fuelling process for Ariane 5 is underway as the countdown continues for this evening's lift-off from Europe's Spaceport with a dual satellite payload for Brazil and Vietnam.
(courtesy: ESA, CNES, Arianespace, Photo Optique Video du CSG)
Fuelling of the heavy-lift launcher's
cryogenic upper stage began approximately five hours before the start of a
1-hour, 7-min. launch window, which will open at 7:17 p.m. local time in French
Guiana.
This will be Arianespace's second Ariane 5 mission of 2008, and
it is to deploy Star One C2 and Vinasat-1 during a 31-min. flight.
Star
One C2 is the upper passenger on today's flight, and will be released
approximately 26 minutes after lift-off. The spacecraft was built by Europe's
Thales Alenia Space, and will be used by Brazil's Star One telecommunications
operator. With a lift-off mass of 4,100 kg., it carries a payload of 28 C-band
transponders, 16 Ku-band transponders and 1 X-band
transponder.
Vinasat-1 is the lower passenger in the Ariane 5 payload
"stack," and will be separated from the launcher 31 minutes into the mission.
Built by U.S.-based Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, Vinasat-1 is
Vietnam's first telecommunications satellite, and is configured with a payload
of 12 Ku-band and 8 C-band transponders. It will be operated by the Vietnam
Posts and Telecommunications Group, and has a lift-off weight of 2,637
kg.
(source: Arianespace)
