Trzeci start Ariane w tym roku15.08.2020 o 22:04 w Kourou wystartowała RN Ariane-5ECA+, która wyniosła na orbitę satelity Galaxy 30, MEV-2 i BSAT-4b.
http://lk.astronautilus.pl/n200801.htm#04Ariane 5 launches Galaxy 30, MEV-2 and BSAT-4b1862 wyświetlenia•16 sie 2020
Some statistics on today's flight:253rd launch of an Ariane rocket since 1979
319th Arianespace mission
109th launch of an Ariane 5 rocket since 1996
62nd Intelsat satellite launched by Arianespace
29th and 30th Northrop Grumman-built satellites launched by Arianespace
10th B-SAT satellite launched by Arianespace
76th launch of an Ariane 5 ECA rocket since 2002
84th flight of a Vulcain 2 engine
108th flight of an HM7B engine
94th Ariane 5 launch targeting GTO
3rd launch from the Guiana Space Center in 2020
3rd Ariane 5 launch in 2020
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/08/15/ariane-5-va-253-mission-status-center/Triple mission success for Ariane 5: the Galaxy 30, MEV-2 and BSAT-4b satellites reach geostationary transfer orbitAugust 15, 2020
(...) Flight VA253’s third passenger, the Mission Extension Vehicle-2 (MEV-2), is a satellite servicing vehicle designed to dock with satellites in orbit. It will provide life extension services. MEV-2’s first customer will be the Intelsat 10-02 satellite, which has been in service in geostationary orbit since 2004 and will have its operational life extended by five years.
The triple-payload launch performed with Flight VA253 to orbit two telecommunications satellites and a servicing spacecraft is a first for Ariane 5. (...)
https://www.arianespace.com/press-release/va253-success/Arianespace lofts three spacecraft in first Ariane 5 launch since start of pandemic by Caleb Henry — August 15, 2020
Arianespace launched an Ariane 5 rocket Aug. 15, completing the company's first launch in five months. Credit: Arianespace webcast.(...) Arianespace had suspended launches from Kourou in March shortly after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus had reached pandemic levels. The French government, which operates the spaceport through its space agency CNES, began discouraging travel around that time and reduced activity at the spaceport.
CNES and Arianespace resumed spaceport activities in French Guiana in May, paving the way for Ariane 5 and Vega launches, which only take place from the Guiana Space Center.
Arianespace’s Aug. 15 Ariane 5 launch, designated VA253, was unique in that it carried three multi-ton spacecraft instead of two. It is the first time an Ariane 5 has launched three spacecraft to geostationary transfer orbit.
The rocket’s upper berth housed Northrop Grumman’s second satellite servicer, MEV-2, with the Galaxy-30 communications satellite for Intelsat stacked atop. The third spacecraft, Japanese operator Bsat’s Bsat-4b satellite, occupied the lower berth, which is typically reserved for lighter satellites. A protective case called a SYLDA separated Bsat-4b from the stacked spacecraft.
The three spacecraft collectively weighed about 9,700 kilograms. Arianespace said the Ariane 5 debuted improvements from to support a maximum of 10,200 kilograms of payload to geostationary transfer orbit, an 85-kilogram increase.
“As part of this mission, three satellites were deployed by the most powerful Ariane 5 ever launched,” Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël said in a news release after the launch.
ArianeGroup, manufacturer of the Ariane 5, said the rocket has increased in payload capacity by 300 kilograms since 2016. (...)
https://spacenews.com/arianespace-lofts-three-spacecraft-in-first-ariane-5-launch-since-start-of-pandemic/Debuting upgrades, Ariane 5 rocket deploys three U.S.-built satellites in orbitAugust 15, 2020 Stephen Clark
An Ariane 5 rocket takes off Saturday from the Guiana Space Center in South America. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin(...)
It was the 300th orbital launch attempt from the European-run spaceport in French Guiana since 1970. (...)
(...) The Ariane 5’s third launch of 2020 was previously scheduled for July 31, but a sensor problem on the rocket’s core stage hydrogen tank forced Arianespace officials to abort the countdown around two minutes before liftoff.
Ground crews at the Guiana Space Center rolled the rocket back to its assembly building and replaced the sensor last week, then returned the Ariane 5 to the launch pad Thursday.
The launch team delayed the Ariane 5’s takeoff 31 minutes Saturday to wait for better upper level wind conditions. (...)
The second Mission Extension Vehicle (left) and the Galaxy 30 communications satellite (right) inside a clean room at the Guiana Space Center. Both satellites were manufactured by Northrop Grumman. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Piron(...) Intelsat purchased life-extension services for two of its satellites from Space Logistics, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman that manages the commercial robotic servicing program. Intelsat 901 resumed commercial communications service in April.
After several months of orbit-raising and phasing maneuvers, the MEV-2 mission will perform a similar docking and mission extension service beginning in 2021 for the Intelsat 10-02 communications satellite, which launched in 2004. MEV-2 will provide Intelsat 10-02 with five additional years of useful service life, helping it deliver media and broadband services across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America. (...)
The BSAT-4b communications satellite during launch preparations at the Guiana Space Center. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. MartinWith Galaxy 30 and MEV-2 deployed, the Ariane 5 cast away a carbon composite shroud that enclosed the mission’s third satellite passenger — the Japanese-owned BSAT-4b broadcasting station — during launch. BSAT-4b separated from the rocket more than 47 minutes after it took off from French Guiana. (...)
With Saturday’s launch,
there are eight more Ariane 5 rockets left to launch before Arianespace transitions to the new Ariane 6 launcher, according to Daniel Neuenschwander, director of space transportation at the European Space Agency.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/08/15/debuting-upgrades-ariane-5-rocket-deploys-three-u-s-built-satellites-in-orbit/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/08/ariane-5-launch-va253/https://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=4146.msg148407#msg148407Galaxy 30
https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/galaxy-30.htmMEV 2
https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/mev-1.htmBSat 4b
https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/bsat-4a.htm