KOUROU, French Guiana --- Arianespace today successfully launched two communications satellites: Stellat 5, built by Alcatel Space for the new Stellat joint venture; and N-STAR c, produced by American manufacturers Orbital Sciences Corporation and Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems for Japanese telecom giant NTT DoCoMo.
This flight was the eighth successful mission in 2002 for Arianespace. The commercial launch services company's fast-paced schedule has used six Ariane 4 and two Ariane 5 boosters to carry 10 payloads in just five and a half months.
Flight 153 was the ninth commercial launch of the Ariane 5 launcher, confirming Arianespace's position as the benchmark launch provider for European, American and Japanese operators.
Arianespace has signed up eight new payloads so far this year, a further recognition of its top-flight service quality.
The next Ariane mission, designated Flight 155, is slated for late August 2002. An Ariane 5 will boost two satellites into geostationary transfer orbit: Atlantic Bird(TM) 1 for Alenia Spazio, and Eumetsat's MSG 1 meteorological spacecraft.
Flight 153 was performed by an Ariane 5 launched from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Liftoff was on July 5, 2002 at 8:22 pm local time in Kourou (11H22 Universal Time, 7:22 pm in Washington, DC, and on July 6 at 1:22 am in Paris).
Stellat 5 is the first satellite to be deployed by Stellat, a joint venture formed in January 2001 by France Telecom (70%) and Europe*Star (30%), a subsidiary of Alcatel Space and Loral Space & Communications.
The Stellat 5 satellite was built by Alcatel Space, using the Spacebus 3000 B3 platform. It will be positioned at 5 degrees West, and is equipped with 35 Ku-band and 10 C-band transponders. Stellat 5 will help bolster the IP and video transmission services offered by France Telecom and Europe*Star in Europe, Africa and the Middle East -- especially Internet access with a satellite return channel.
N-STAR c, a mobile telephony satellite, was launched for the American companies Orbital Sciences Corp. and Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems as part of a turnkey contract with Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo.
The satellite was built by prime contractor Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems of Newtown, Pennsylvania, which supplied the payload and was responsible for integration. Dulles, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. provided the platform and ground facilities, and will handle satellite positioning in orbit. Fitted with 20 S-band transponders and one C-band transponder, N-STAR c will expand the mobile telephony services offered by NTT DoCoMo throughout Japan.
Flight 153's Ariane 5 carried the inscription "Ville de Charleroi" on the heavy-lift launcher's payload fairing. The recognition of this Belgium town is part of a promotion for the Community of Ariane Cities. Charleroi, and local space hardware manufacturer Alcatel ETCA, are among the founding members of this association.
The Alcatel ETCA company is deeply involved in this Ariane 153 launch. On the Stellat 5 satellite, the company has delivered the main power conditioning equipment, as well as the solar panel motor control electronic and several electronic power conditioners (EPC) for the Travelling Wave Tube Amplifiers (TWTA).
On the launcher itself, Alcatel ETCA has provided safety electronic equipment and pyrotechnic orders switching equipment, whose function is to command the separation of the solid state boosters, as well as the release of the shroud protecting the satellites.
Arianespace is the commercial launch services leader, holding more than 50 percent of the international market for satellites launched to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). Created in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company, Arianespace has signed contracts for the launch of more than 240 satellite payloads.
