Tag: Arianespace
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Ariane 5 launches Mission Extension Vehicle, two communications satellites to orbit
An Ariane 5 rocket, operated by European Launch Service provider Arianespace, launched on its 109th scheduled flight, designated VA253, on Saturday. The heavy lift rocket was scheduled to launch from pad Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3 (ELA-3) at Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 31 July 2020. However, a hold was called, under two…
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Ariane 5 launches Mission Extension Vehicle, two communications satellites to orbit
An Ariane 5 rocket, operated by European Launch Service provider Arianespace, launched on its 109th scheduled flight, designated VA253, on Saturday. The heavy lift rocket was scheduled to launch from pad Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3 (ELA-3) at Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 31 July 2020. However, a hold was called, under two…
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Ariane 5 rocket returns to launch pad for liftoff with commercial satellites
Ground crews transferred an Ariane 5 rocket back to its launch pad Thursday after resolving a technical concern associated with the vehicle’s main stage liquid hydrogen tank. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – J. Durrenberger Loaded with three commercial satellites, a European Ariane 5 rocket returned to its launch pad in French…
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Ariane 5 rocket returning to hangar for sensor swap
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated with new launch date of Aug. 14. An Ariane 5 rocket stands at the ELA-3 launch zone at the Guiana Space Center. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – J. Durrenberger Arianespace is returning an Ariane 5 rocket — loaded with three U.S.-built satellites — back to its final assembly building…
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Live coverage: Ariane 5 launch scrubbed by sensor problem
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the Galaxy 30 and BSAT-4b communications satellites, and Northrop Grumman’s second Mission Extension Vehicle for satellite servicing. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s live video webcast will begin approximately 15 minutes…
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Ariane 5 to test modified fairing for JWST, hardware for new range safety system
The payload shroud containing three commercial satellites on top of the Ariane 5 rocket for launch Friday includes modifications needed for the launch in late 2021 of the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon Engineers plan to test small modifications to a payload shroud on a…
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Mission Extension Vehicles Validate New Satellite Lifeline in Orbit
Until February 2020, when a satellite on orbit ran out of propellant, that was the end of its life. Most major communications and military satellites are designed with prolonged lifetimes and carry enough fuel for a 15 year mission. But the struggle for some satellite operators has been that at the end of that 15…
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NASA announces seven-month launch delay for JWST
The James Webb Space Telescope inside Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Redondo Beach, California, earlier this month. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn NASA officials said Thursday the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will be delayed seven months to Oct. 31, 2021, a schedule slip that takes into account work slowdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic…
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ESA delays Ariane 6 launch to the second half of 2021
The European Space Agency (ESA) has delayed the first launch of their upcoming heavy-medium rocket: the Ariane 6. Arianespace – the prime contractor for Ariane 6 – and ESA now expect it to launch NET (no earlier than) the second half of 2021, with at least six months of delay. Ariane 6 is a medium-heavy…
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Three U.S.-built satellites in French Guiana for Ariane 5 launch
Northrop Grumman’s second Mission Extension Vehicle and Intelsat’s Galaxy 30 communications satellite were shipped from Dulles, Virginia, to French Guiana, in late June. Credit: Northrop Grumman The next flight of Europe’s heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket, set for July 28 from French Guiana, will carry a record payload of three multi-ton satellites toward geostationary orbit, including…