Astra 5B, Amazonas 4A – Ariane 5 ECA (VA216) – Куру ELA-3 – 22.03.2014 - 22:04 UTC

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/article/financial-report/36475ses-sees-emerging-market-focus-paying-off#.UfKtcazzPTo

The third satellite that is behind schedule is the Astra 5B, which had been preparing for a September or October liftoff as one of two passengers aboard a European Ariane 5 ECA heavy-lift rocket.
But the intended co-passenger for this flight, the Optus 10 satellite owned by Optus Satellite of Australia, has been removed from the Arianespace lineup, at least for the moment.
Industry officials said Optus owner SingTel Optus appears to have decided to delay the launch while the company looks for a buyer for the Optus Satellite fleet.
Evry, France-based Arianespace, which operates the Ariane 5 rocket, was unable to find a quick substitute for Optus 10 before December, meaning Astra 5B will not be generating revenue for SES until 2014.
Bausch did not mention Optus in the conference call, saying only that the intended Astra 5B co-passenger has been replaced in the Arianespace queue by another satellite that would not be available before December.
For SES there is an unhappy irony in the situation. Once SingTel Optus removed the Optus 10 from its launch slot, the Ariane 5 rocket carrying the Astra 5B had a vacancy at what is sometimes called the "second seat" on the Ariane 5 rocket, which means the lower position reserved for the lighter of the two satellite payloads.
SES-8 could have been that payload, given its size, thus providing SES the launch of two satellites aboard the same rocket in September. But SES officials, referring to their long-held policy of seeking to widen the pool of available commercial launchers, have stuck with SpaceX and the Falcon 9 through the successive delays.

[Salo]

http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/astra-2e.htm

Astra 2E, 2F, 2G, 5B
 
 
Astra 2E [EADS Astrium]

 SES S.A. and Astrium announced in December 2009 that SES has ordered four multi-mission satellites from Astrium to provide replacement as well as incremental capacity for its SES ASTRA and SES WORLD SKIES divisions.
The new satellites, to be designated Astra 2E, Astra 2F, Astra 2G and Astra 5B, will allow the release of the existing satellites at two orbital positions (28.2 and 31.5 degrees East) and add new capacity as well as fleet deployment flexibility for the SES group over the coming years. The satellites are scheduled for launch in several steps between 2012 and 2014. The design life of each satellite is 15 years.
The four new satellites will be built on a Eurostar-3000 platform.
Three of the new spacecraft, Astra 2E, Astra 2F and Astra 2G, will serve to deliver next generation broadcast, VSAT and broadband services in Europe and Africa, and will carry Ku-and Ka-band payloads at 28.2 degrees East.
The Ku-band capacity will allow SES ASTRA to enhance and secure its existing offering to major Direct-to-Home (DTH) markets in the UK and Ireland. With a Ku-band payload specifically designed to meet the requirements of some of Europe's largest DTH broadcasters, the satellites will have spot beam and pan-European beam switching capabilities to accommodate both pay-TV and free-to-air broadcasters, and to provide these customers with increased functionality. The Ka-band payload will allow SES ASTRA to develop next generation broadband services in Europe, including its ASTRA2Connect product.
Astra 2E, Astra 2F and Astra 2G will also include replacement and new capacity for the SES WORLD SKIES division, serving the African and the Middle Eastern markets with Ku-and Ka-band capacity. The new capacity will provide continuity of service and expansion opportunities for customers that are today already using the Astra 2B steerable beam over West Africa, as well as for new customers
Astra 5B will be deployed at the orbital position 31.5 degrees East, extending SES ASTRA's transponder capacity and geographical reach over Eastern European and neighboring markets for DTH, Direct-to-Cable (DTC) and contribution feeds to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) networks.

Nation:    Luxembourg
Type / Application:    Communication (Direct Broadcasting)
Operator:    SES-Astra
Contractors:    EADS Astrium
Equipment:    60 Ku- and 3 Ka-band transponders (#2E, #2F)
Configuration:    Eurostar-3000
Propulsion:    ?
Power:    2 deployable solar arrays, batteries
Lifetime:    15 years
Mass:    6000 kg; 5968 kg (#2F)
Orbit:    GEO

[Salo]

http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/optus-10.htm

Amazonas 4A
 

Amazonas 4A [OSC]

 Amazonas 4A is spanish communications satellite, which will carry a payload of 24 Ku-band transponders with coverage of South America, from Venezuela and Colombia in the north, to Argentina and Chile in the south. Satellite performance will be 46 to 48.5 dBW throughout the South American mainland. The contract for Amazonas 4A and the higher power Amazonas 4B was signed in June 2012 with launch of Amazonas 4A scheduled for early 2014.
 
Nation:    Spain
Type / Application:    Communication
Operator:    Hispasat
Contractors:    Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC)
Equipment:    24 Ku-band transponders transponders
Configuration:    GEOStar-2 Bus
Propulsion:    IHI BT-4
Power:    2 deployable solar arrays, batteries
Lifetime:    15 years
Mass:    3000 kg
Orbit:    GEO

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2013/1080.asp

The Ariane 5 for Arianespace's fifth heavy-lift mission of 2013 arrives in French Guiana
 
 
With Kourou's famous Dreyfus Tower in the foreground, the MN Toucan roll-on/roll-off ship arrives in French Guiana with Ariane 5 launcher components for Arianespace's Flight VA216.

 August 6, 2013 – Ariane Flight VA216
Another heavy-lift Ariane 5 has been delivered to French Guiana as Arianespace maintains its commercial mission pace in 2013 with the company's launcher family.
The latest Ariane 5 was delivered yesterday by the MN Toucan, which is one of two roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) ships that transport Arianespace's Soyuz, Ariane 5 and Vega vehicles from Europe to the company's South America operating base.  Its elements were unloaded at Pariacabo Port adjacent to the city of Kourou, positioning them for the transfer by road to the nearby Spaceport.
This new launcher will be used for Flight VA216 – the fifth mission planned in 2013 with the workhorse Ariane 5 from French Guiana.  Previous heavy-lift flights performed during the year were Flight VA214, which orbited the Alphasat and INSAT-3D satellites on July 25; Flight VA213, carrying the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Albert Einstein on June 5; and Flight VA212, orbiting the Amazonas 3 and Azerspace/Africasat-1a spacecraft on February 7.
Arianespace's next Ariane 5 launch, designated Flight VA215, is targeted for August 29 to orbit the Eutelsat 25B/Es'hail-1 and GSAT-7 payloads.  Initial vehicle build-up has been completed at the Spaceport's Launcher Integration Building for Ariane 5, readying it for rollout to the Final Assembly Building. Once this move occurs, the Launcher Integration Building will be available for assembly start-up with the newly-delivered Ariane 5 for Flight VA216.

[Salo]

Пуск запланирован на  13 декабря 2013.

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2013/1099.asp

Arianespace's next Ariane 5 mission will serve two key customers: SES and HISPASAT

October 1, 2013 – Ariane Flight VA216

The Ariane 5 for Arianespace's next dual-payload heavy-lift mission has begun its assembly at the Spaceport for a mid-December launch with telecommunications satellites from two established customers: Luxembourg-based SES and Spain's HISPASAT.
As with the 71 Ariane 5s previously launched from French Guiana, this vehicle's build-up employed a well-established integration flow, with the core cryogenic stage being positioned over one of two operational launch tables, followed by rollout and mating of the two solid propellant boosters.
These steps will be followed by positioning of the cryogenic upper stage and vehicle equipment bay as a single unit atop the core stage, completing the initial assembly process in the Spaceport's Launcher Integration Building. The Ariane 5 then will be transferred to the Final Assembly Building for installation of both satellite passengers.
The December mission is designated Flight VA216 in Arianespace's launcher family numbering system, representing the 216th liftoff of an Ariane since this series of vehicles began operation in 1979.
Riding in the upper position of Ariane 5's payload "stack" will be ASTRA 5B, which is to extend SES' transponder capacity and geographical reach over Eastern European and neighboring markets for direct-to-home, direct-to-cable and contribution feeds to digital terrestrial television networks.
Built by Astrium, ASTRA 5B also carries a hosted L-band payload for the European Commission's European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). With a design lifetime of 15 years, ASTRA 5B will have an estimated liftoff mass of 5,800 kg. and is to be positioned at an orbital location of 31.5 deg. East.
Astra 5B's launch is within the scope of SES' Multi-Launch Agreement with Arianespace, representing the exceptional relationship established by these two companies over the past two decades.
 The lower passenger on Arianespace's Flight VA216 is HISPASAT's Amazonas 4A, to be located at an orbital position 61 deg. West after its deployment by the Ariane 5. This Orbital Sciences Corporation-produced telecommunications platform will enhance HISPASAT's relay capacity over Latin America to provide an extended range of communications and television services. With a launch mass of 3,000 kg., Amazonas 4A has a design lifespan of 15 years.

The initial build-up steps for Flight VA216's Ariane 5 are shown in these photos.


Its core cryogenic stage is raised vertically in the Launcher Integration Building's erection hall,


and then moved into the facility's integration hall for positioning over the launch table.



Both solid propellant boosters are shown during their rollout to the Launcher Integration Building for mating with Ariane 5.

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2013/1103.asp

Ariane 5 arrives at the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building for payload installation
 
October 24, 2013 – Ariane Flight VA216
Arianespace's next Ariane 5 for launch during 2013 is now set to receive its two satellite passengers after this heavy-lift vehicle's transfer to the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building in French Guiana.
The Ariane 5 rolled out this week fr om the Launcher Integration Building – where its core cryogenic stage, two solid boosters and cryogenic upper stage were assembled by prime contractor Astrium Space Transportation – to the Final Assembly Building for delivery to Arianespace.
Now under Arianespace's responsibility, the Ariane 5 is positioned for integration of its ASTRA 5B and Amazonas 4A payloads – which will be followed by the final verifications and subsequent transfer to the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch zone for a December liftoff.
This upcoming mission is designated Flight VA216 in Arianespace's launcher family numbering system, signifying the 216th liftoff of an Ariane since this series of vehicles began operation in 1979.
ASTRA 5B – the upper passenger in Ariane 5's payload "stack" – was built by Astrium for Luxembourg-based SES. Once in orbit, it will extend the operator's transponder capacity and geographic reach over Eastern European and neighboring markets for direct-to-home, direct-to-cable and contribution feeds to digital terrestrial television networks.
With an estimated liftoff mass of 5,800 kg., ASTRA 5B also carries a hosted L-band payload for the European Commission's European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and will operate from an orbital position of 31.5 deg. East.
Ariane 5's lower passenger, the Orbital Sciences Corporation-produced Amazonas 4A, is to enhance Spanish operator HISPASAT's relay capacity over Latin America to provide an extended range of communications and television services.
 Amazonas 4A – which is to weigh approximately 6,200 kg. at liftoff – will be located at a 61 deg. West orbital slot following its deployment by Ariane 5, positioning this telecommunications platform for coverage across the entire American continent, along with Europe and North Africa.


Riding atop one of two operational launch tables at the Spaceport, Ariane 5 moves to the Final Assembly Building – wh ere it will receive the dual-satellite payload of ASTRA 5B and Amazonas 4A.

[Salo]

Amazonas 4A – which is to weigh approximately 6,200 kg. at liftoff – will be located at a 61 deg.

Позабавило...

[ВВК]

Salo пишет:

With an estimated liftoff mass of 5,800 kg., ASTRA 5B also carries a hosted L-band payload for the European Commission's European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and will operate from an orbital position of 31.5 deg. East.
Ariane 5's lower passenger, the Orbital Sciences Corporation-produced Amazonas 4A, is to enhance Spanish operator HISPASAT's relay capacity over Latin America to provide an extended range of communications and television services.
Amazonas 4A – which is to weigh approximately 6,200 kg. at liftoff – will be located at a 61 deg. West orbital slot following its deployment by Ariane 5, positioning this telecommunications platform for coverage across the entire American continent, along with Europe and North Africa.

Если правильно понял 5800 кг + 6200 кг итого 12 000 кг  вроде должно быть 5968+3000 или это стартовая просто такая большая разница может быть

[Salo]

Amazonas 4A – 3200 кг.

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2013/1104.asp

Arianespace's Ariane 5 launch with ASTRA 5B and Amazonas 4A is scheduled for December 6
October 29, 2013 – Ariane Flight VA216


 Riding atop one of two operational launch tables at the Spaceport during activity last week, Ariane 5 approaches the Final Assembly Building for integration of its dual-passenger payload.
 
Arianespace has moved up the launch date for its next Ariane 5 mission, which is now set to lift off on December 6 fr om the Spaceport in French Guiana.
This Ariane 5 flight will orbit a pair of telecommunications satellites from two established customers: SES' ASTRA 5B and the Amazonas 4A satellite for HISPASAT. The mission's heavy-lift launcher currently is located in the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building, wh ere it was transferred last week for the integration of its dual-passenger payload.
The December 6 mission is designated Flight VA216 in Arianespace's launcher family numbering system, representing the 216th liftoff of an Ariane since this series of vehicles began operation in 1979.
 Its scheduling allows additional checks to be made on the payload for Arianespace's following mission – Flight VS06, using a medium-lift Soyuz launcher – which has been set for December 20.  The passenger for Flight VS06 is the European Space Agency's Gaia star-mapping spacecraft, which requires the modification of two transponders that generate timing signals for downlinking its science telemetry.  Replacing components in the transponders resulted in a delay that puts Flight VS06's liftoff after the launch of Arianespace Flight VA216.

[Salo]

7 декабря в 01:57-03:03 ЛМВ.

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2013/1109.asp

ASTRA 5B lands in French Guiana for its upcoming Ariane 5 flight

November 7, 2013 – Ariane Flight VA216
Payload preparations for Arianespace's next heavy-lift mission are ready to move into gear as the ASTRA 5B satellite has arrived in French Guiana.
ASTRA 5B – which Arianespace will launch for Luxembourg-based operator SES – was delivered by an An-124 cargo aircraft to the Félix Eboué Airport near Cayenne this week, approximately one month prior to its targeted December 6 liftoff date with co-passenger Amazonas 4A.
The Astrium-produced spacecraft's specialized shipping container was unloaded – aided by the aircraft's "kneeling" capability – and then prepared for road transport to the Spaceport, which is located some 65 kilometers away in Kourou.
ASTRA 5B will extend SES' transponder capacity and geographical reach over Eastern Europe and neighboring markets, delivering direct-to-home, direct-to-cable and contribution feeds to digital terrestrial television networks. It also carries a hosted L-band payload for the European Commission's European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).
As the upper passenger for Arianespace's next heavy-lift mission, ASTRA 5B's estimated liftoff mass is 5,800 kg., and it will operate from an orbital position of 31.5 deg. East.
With a launch mass of 3,000 kg., Amazonas 4A will join ASTRA 5B on Arianespace Flight VA216 in the lower position of the "payload stack." This spacecraft – to be located at an orbital position of 61 deg. West – will provide enhanced relay capacity over Latin America and an extended range of communications and television services for operator HISPASAT.
Designated VA216 in the company's numbering system, this liftoff represents the 216th flight of an Ariane-series vehicle, as well as the fifth heavy-lift launch this year. On its four 2013 missions to date, Ariane 5 has successfully orbited seven payloads with a combined total payload lift performance of more than 50,000 kg.


Following its arrival at French Guiana's Félix Eboué Airport, ASTRA 5B's container is rigged to be moved from the An-124 cargo jetliner's unloading ramp to a flatbed trailer, which is used to transfer it by road to the Spaceport.

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2013/1110.asp

Ariane 5 Flight VA216 is postponed for additional payload checks

November 13, 2013 – Ariane Flight VA216

Arianespace has postponed its upcoming Ariane 5 mission after learning one of the two satellite passengers – HISPASAT's Amazonas 4A – requires additional verifications. Amazonas 4A is to be joined on the flight by SES' ASTRA 5B.

A new launch date will be announced by Arianespace as soon as possible.

Next up in the Arianespace flight manifest is its December 20 launch of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia star-mapper, which will be lofted from the Spaceport in French Guiana using a Soyuz vehicle.

Built by Astrium, this scientific satellite will collect a massive amount of data over its planned five-year mission – providing enough information to answer questions related to the origin, structure and evolutionary history of the galaxy.

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/article/satellite-telecom/38136ses%E2%80%99s-astra-5b-launch-delayed-again-as-ariane-5-co-passenger-hispasat

SES's Astra 5B Launch Delayed Again as Ariane 5 Co-passenger Hispasat Calls Timeout To Tweak Satellite

By Peter B. de Selding | Nov. 13, 2013


Hispasat issued a statement saying "a number of adjustments ... need to be made to boost the satellite's reliability ... stemming from an anomaly detected during one of the last tests of the Amazonas 4A before being transported to the launch pad. Credit: Orbital Sciences artist's concept

PARIS — Satellite fleet operator SES's struggles with its Ariane 5 launch co-passengers continued Nov. 13 with the announcement that the Amazonas 4A satellite, scheduled to share an Ariane 5 launch with SES's Astra 5B, would not be ready for an early-December liftoff.
Amazonas 4A is owned by Hispasat of Spain. Hispasat issued a statement saying "a number of adjustments ... need to be made to boost the satellite's reliability ...  stemming from an anomaly detected during one of the last tests of the Amazonas 4A before being transported to the launch pad.
"Although tests show that any risk is remote, Hispasat prefers to resolve any problems affecting a satellite's performance, however small, before launch given that it considers the robustness and reliability of its satellites to be of paramount importance."
Amazonas 4A was built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., in what Hispasat described in late October as "record time."
The Evry, France-based Arianespace launch consortium and Luxembourg-based SES announced the launch delay separately Nov. 13.
SES said it is now counting on a January launch.
The Ariane 5 flight had already been moved up to early December from mid-December following the approval of Hispasat and SES in order to leave enough time for the launch service provider to redeploy its ground tracking antennas to support a Dec. 20 flight of Europe's Gaia star-mapping satellite.
Gaia will be launched on a Europeanized Soyuz rocket, which operates from a separate launch installation near the Ariane 5 facilities at Europe's Guiana Space Center spaceport on the northeast coast of South America. The Gaia launch campaign, which was delayed by a last-minute satellite issue of its own, will not be affected by the Ariane 5 delay, an Arianespace official said.
SES said its Astra 5B telecommunications satellite, built by Astrium Satellites of Europe, will be stored at the Guiana site in anticipation that Amazonas 4A will be ready for a January liftoff.
For SES, it is the second time this year that Astra 5B's launch has been delayed because of a last-minute problem with a co-passenger. The scheduled launch this summer with the Optus 10 satellite owned by Australia's Optus was scrubbed when Optus 10 was pulled from the manifest pending a possible sale of Optus.
Arianespace, which occasionally struggles to find lighter-weight passengers to accompany heavier satellites on Ariane 5, scrambled to find a replacement and settled on Amazonas 4A.
SES, along with the French space agency, CNES, has said Arianespace's second-passenger problem with Ariane 5 is one argument on behalf of an immediate program to build an Ariane 6 successor that would be modular in nature and carry one satellite at a time. European governments are expected to decide in December 2014 whether to proceed with full development of Ariane 6. A positive decision would mean the next-generation rocket would be available around the end of the decade.

[Salo]

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=32269.msg1121392#msg1121392

Jester пишет:
ASTRA-5B fit check
 

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1124.asp

The heavy-lift Ariane 5 workhorse will also perform Arianespace's second mission this year – scheduled for March 7 – which is to loft SES' Astra 5B and HISPASAT's Amazonas 4A spacecraft on Flight VA216. 

Пуск назначен на 7 марта по UTC.

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1132.asp

Ariane 5 Flight VA216 is postponed for payload checks
 
February 14, 2014 – Ariane Flight VA216
In order to allow HISPASAT to perform complementary checks on its Amazonas 4A satellite, Arianespace will reschedule the Ariane 5 mission originally planned for March 7.
A new launch date will be announced soon. 
 The VA216 flight will carry Amazonas 4A for HISPASAT, along with its co-passenger: SES's ASTRA 5B spacecraft.

[ВВК]

И раньше августа пары для пусков не видно, наверно Сокол к себе заманил

[anik]

Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes

Orbital-built Amazonas 4A suspect component replacement now at launch base, liftoff w/ SES Astra 5B on Ariane 5 set for March 21.