Europe’s Ariane-5 reaches orbit
p2pnet.net OT News:- Flight 164, Europe’s heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket, has made into orbit after yesterday’s launch in French Guiana.
It represents Arianespace’s first mission of 2005 and carries the XTAR-EUR X-band telecommunications satellite as its primary payload.
Also on board are the Sloshsat microsatellite experiment in fluid physics, and the Maqsat-B2 dummy payload.
“The new, more-powerful Ariane 5 model is designed to reassert Europe’s once-dominant position in the commercial launch market by offering the ability to launch two telecommunications satellites weighing a combined 10,000 kilograms into geostationary orbit, the operating location used by most telecommunications spacecraft, says Space.com.
Following a December 2002 failure, “European governments cobbled together a billion-dollar emergency bailout package to assure Arianespace a minimum revenue stream between 2005 and 2009, and to offset launch-base operating costs,” says the story. “These same governments also agreed to finance today’s demonsitration flight.”
The Maqsat-B2 satellite is installed atop the Ariane 5 ECA’s cryogenic upper stage and will remain fixed to Ariane 5 throughout the mission.
Sloshsat will be deployed during Flight 164.
Its main-stage cryogenic Vulcain 2 engine, which was responsible for a maiden-flight failure, was redesigned, says Space.com, adding:
“The upper stage, which is also new and which never got the chance to prove itself, functioned apparently without a hitch.”
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See:-
first mission – The heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA is complete!, Arienspace, February 7, 2005commercial launch market - Launch of New, Improved Ariane 5 a Success, Space.com, February 12, 2005
