Latest Ariane 5 Stories

[WATCH VIDEO: Vega Launch Sequence Replay] Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online After a delayed launch due to strong wind conditions on Saturday May 4, ESA's Vega rocket lifted off early Tuesday (02:06 GMT May 7) on a complex mission to set three payloads into two different orbits. The ESA successfully launched the rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying Proba-V, VNREDSat-1 and ESTCube-1. Tuesday’s launch was the second mission for...

PALO ALTO, CA, Feb. 11, 2013 /CNW/ - Space Systems/Loral (SSL), a leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that the Amazonas 3 multi-mission satellite, designed and built for HISPASAT Group, was launched on February 7, 2013 and is successfully performing post-launch maneuvers according to plan. The satellite deployed its solar arrays on schedule following its launch aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle provided by Arianespace from the European Spaceport in Kourou,...

ESA Tucked away in a vacuum chamber for several months, Europe’s largest telecom satellite has faced the harsh conditions it will deal with once it is launched into space this summer. Testing at Intespace in Toulouse, France, simulated conditions close to those Alphasat will experience in flight, including the intense cold of its transfer orbits in the early stages of the mission. Not only was Alphasat’s ability to control its temperature tested, but other features were also put...

ESA [ Watch The Video ] The first Ariane 5 heavy-lift mission of the year has delivered the Azerspace/Africasat-1a and Amazonas-3 telecom satellites into their planned transfer orbits. Liftoff of flight VA212 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana came at 21:36 GMT (22:36 CET; 18:36 French Guiana) right at the opening of the launch window. The target injection orbit had a perigee altitude of 246.9 km, an apogee altitude of 35 895 km with an inclination of 6°. Both satellites...

PARIS, February 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) and Arianespace today announced the signature of a long-term multiple launch services agreement which guarantees launch capacity and flexibility to Eutelsat for its industry-leading expansion programme. The agreement covers up to four launches in the 2016 and 2017 timeframe, with the assignment of each satellite to a launch vehicle to be made at a later stage. The new...

EVRY, France and ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Nov. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- EchoStar Corp. (NASDAQ: SATS) and Arianespace, SA, have reached an agreement to launch multiple new satellites over a multi-year period from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. The new contract will provide EchoStar with launch capacity and flexibility for its industry-leading satellite program. "In July, EchoStar's wholly owned subsidiary, Hughes completed the successful launch of EchoStar XVII with Arianespace,...

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online European Space Agency’s (ESA) ATV-3 cargo vessel completed a successful six-month servicing mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and ended its life after reentering the Earth’s atmosphere and burning up as planned over the southern Pacific Ocean overnight. The ATV-3 (Automated Transfer Vehicle), named Edoardo Amaldi, launched on March 23, carried into space by an Ariane 5 rocket, and docked with the orbiting lab 5...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online The twin Galileo satellites are now fueled and ready for the launch planned for the evening of October 12, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA said that technicians filled up the two satellites' tanks with hydrazine fuel, which is used to maintain the satellites' attitude and orbital position during their 12-year lifetime. The Galileo satellites will be transported to medium orbit by the Fregat fourth stage of their...

[ Watch the Video: Ariane 5's 50th Successful Launch ] Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online An Ariane 5 rocket launch from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) spaceport in French Guiana on August 2nd marks the 50th successful launch since Ariane rocket lift-offs began in 2003. The latest launch performed a dual deployment of two telecommunications satellites: Intelsat 20 and Hylas-2. The launch marks Ariane 5’s fourth launch of 2012. The lift-off of flight VA208...

Since the launch of MSG-3, ESA’s mission controllers have been working to ensure that this latest weather satellite’s voyage to 36 000 km above the Equator runs smoothly. With MSG-3 healthy and now in its place of work, ESA has handed operations over to Eumetsat. The third Meteosat Second Generation satellite took to the skies on an Ariane 5 rocket on 5 July from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Once fully operational, it will deliver essential information from...