The rapid pace of mission activity is continuing in French Guiana as Arianespace pursues its full launch schedule for 2002. In addition to the six launches already performed by Arianespace this year (which orbited seven primary satellites and two auxiliary payloads with a combined total of more than 27,365 kg.), preparations for upcoming several campaigns are underway.
Arianespace's next launch is on schedule for June 5 with the Intelsat 905 satellite, which will be carried aboard an Ariane 4. Satellites also have arrived for two future Ariane 5 missions: the Stellat 5 spacecraft for Flight 153 in late June, and the MSG-1 platform for Flight 155 in the second half of the year.
The Stellat 5 satellite has been removed from its container after the completion of a global leak test in the S5C hall of the Spaceport's new S5 satellite preparation facility. The antenna complement is to be used for Stellat 5's coverage across Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East, as well as in providing trans-Atlantic links with the U.S. and South America
Stellat 5 is based on the Alcatel Space Industries Spacebus 3000 B3 platform and will have a launch mass of 4,100 kg. The satellite will be used by a joint-venture company called Stellat, which brings together France Telecom (with a 70 percent share) with Europe*Star (30 percent). Positioned at 5 deg. West longitude, Stellat 5 will support two-way broadband Internet access across much of Europe, and offer a connectivity matrix between Europe, the east coasts of North and South America, Africa, the Middle East and significant swaths of near Asia
The large Stellat 5 satellite is easily maneuvered through the Spaceport's massive new S5 facility as it is transported from the S5C preparation hall to the S5A fueling and integration hall. The S5 facility allows satellites to be checked out, prepared and fueled in one single complex instead of having to be moved from building to building. The S5 facility entered service for Arianespace in April 2001, and is operated by Guiana Space Center teams from the French CNES space agency.
The initial second-generation Meteosat metrological satellite recently arrived in the Spaceport's S1 satellite preparation building. The spin-stabilized MSG-1 spacecraft will provide multi-spectral imagery of the Earth's surface and cloud systems at double the rate of first-generation Meteosat platforms, and will operate 12 spectral channels instead of three. MSG-1 was developed under European Space Agency responsibility and will be operated by Europe's Eumetsat organization
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Satellites Arrive For Arianespace's Upcoming Launches
