{"id":13889,"date":"2018-04-05T18:22:28","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T10:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/ariane-5-returns-to-service-with-dual-satellite-launch\/"},"modified":"2018-04-05T18:22:28","modified_gmt":"2018-04-05T10:22:28","slug":"ariane-5-returns-to-service-with-dual-satellite-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/ariane-5-returns-to-service-with-dual-satellite-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Ariane 5 returns to service with dual-satellite launch"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A European Ariane 5 rocket lifts off Thursday from French Guiana. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 S. Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boosted by two solid-fueled motors and a hydrogen-burning main engine, a European Ariane 5 rocket took off Thursday from French Guiana with a Japanese military communications payload and a U.S.-built, British-owned broadband satellite, returning to service after a January mission placed two spacecraft in the wrong orbit.<\/p>\n

Riding nearly 3 million pounds of thrust, the Ariane 5 lifted off from a launch pad nestled on the northeastern shore of South America at 2134 GMT (5:34 p.m. EDT; 6:34 p.m. French Guiana time).<\/p>\n

The Ariane 5\u2019s on-board guidance computer commanded the rocket\u2019s twin solid rocket boosters to swivel their exhaust nozzles, steering the launcher toward the east from the Guiana Space Center, a European-funded, French-managed spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana.<\/p>\n

The rocket\u2019s solid-fueled boosters, primarily manufactured and prepared by affiliates of the Italian company Avio, burned out and jettisoned less than two-and-a-half minutes into the flight. The Ariane 5\u2019s nose fairing, built by Ruag Space in Switzerland, dropped away from the launcher around a minute later.<\/p>\n

Status callouts from the space center\u2019s range operations manager indicated the Ariane 5 flew right on course as it headed over the Atlantic Ocean. The Ariane 5\u2019s French-made core stage Vulcain 2 main engine shut down and separated around nine minutes after liftoff, and the German-built HM7B upper stage ignited, consuming a mix of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for around 16 minutes to place two communications satellite \u2014 named DSN 1\/Superbird 8 and Hylas 4 \u2014 into an elliptical geostationary transfer orbit.<\/p>\n

After arriving in in orbit, the Ariane 5\u2019s upper stage released the Japanese DSN 1\/Superbird 8 satellite around 28 minutes into the mission. A few minutes later, the rocket jettisoned a composite structure to reveal Hylas 4 for separation.<\/p>\n

Arianespace confirmed deployment of the Hylas 4 communications craft around Plus+34 minutes. Moments later, Arianespace chairman and chief executive Stephane Israel declared success.<\/p>\n

\u201cArianespace is delighted to announce that DSN 1\/Superbird 8 and Hylas 4 have been separated as planned in their targeted geostationary transfer orbits,\u201d Israel said. \u201cFor our third launch of the year, Ariane 5 performed flawlessly. Congratulations to all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s launch from the edge of the Amazon rainforest came a little more than two months after an Ariane 5 rocket deployed two commercial communications satellites into an off-target orbit.<\/p>\n

Investigators probing the erroneous launch determined coordinates programmed into the Ariane 5\u2019s inertial reference units led the rocket approximately 20 degrees off course from its intended easterly trajectory seconds after liftoff Jan. 25.<\/p>\n

The rocket performed as programmed, but the incorrect navigation input caused it to place its two satellite payloads \u2014 the SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellites \u2014 into an unplanned orbit. The spacecraft will make up for the orbit shortfall using their on-board fuel, but it will take longer than planned to place the satellites into commercial service.<\/p>\n

For details about the investigation into the Jan. 25 launch anomaly, see our earlier story.<\/p>\n

Investigators recommended Arianespace and its parent company, Ariane Group, to improve the way engineers develop and verify documentation before a launch, and to introduce additional consistency checks to prevent the recurrence of an error like the one Jan. 25.<\/p>\n

Arianespace said the cause of the trajectory deviation during the Jan. 25 launch was \u201cperfectly understood and corrective measures clearly identified.\u201d The recommendations were \u201cimmediately implemented,\u201d Arianespace said, and will be applied to future Ariane 5 flights, beginning with Thursday\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

The Jan. 25 anomaly ended a streak of 82 consecutive flawless Ariane 5 flights dating back to 2003.<\/p>\n

Arianespace continued its 2018 launch campaign with the successful March 9 liftoff of a Russian-built Soyuz rocket from French Guiana carrying four commercial O3b broadband satellites.<\/p>\n

The Ariane 5 rocket launched Thursday aimed to release the DSN 1\/Superbird 8 communications satellites in an elongated orbit ranging between 155 miles (250 kilometers) and 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth, with an inclination of 3 degrees to the equator.<\/p>\n

U.S. military tracking data published late Thursday indicated the Ariane 5 reached an orbit close to the pre-flight prediction.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Technicians inside a clean room at the Guiana Space Center fuel the Hylas 4 satellite with its on-board propellant supply. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 JM Guillon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Built by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. under the contract management of NEC Corp., the DSN 1\/Superbird 8 satellite has a dual mission for commercial customers in Japan and the Japanese Ministry of Defense.<\/p>\n

The commercial part of the satellite\u2019s payload, known as Superbird 8, will provide Ku-band an Ka-band communications services in the Japanese market for Sky Perfect JSAT Corp., replacing coverage currently provided by the aging Superbird B2 satellite launched in 2000.<\/p>\n

The rest of the satellite\u2019s telecom capacity, operating in X-band frequencies, will be employed by the Japanese Ministry of Defense through a commercial provider named DSN Corp., a subsidiary of Sky Perfect JSAT. The Japanese military\u2019s first dedicated communications satellite, known as DSN 2, launched on an H-2A rocket in January 2017.<\/p>\n

The 11,790-pound (5,348-kilogram) DSN 1\/Superbird 8 spacecraft was supposed to launch on an Ariane 5 rocket in 2016, but the satellite was damaged during its transport to the launch base from Japan aboard a cargo plane. The satellite was returned to Japan for repairs.<\/p>\n

Also known as Kirameki 1, the Japanese telecom relay craft will enter service in the next few months.<\/p>\n

\u201cKirameki 1 is extremely important to the communications infrastructure for Japanese security,\u201d said Masashi Yasuzato, a project manager at the Japanese Defense Ministry\u2019s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency. \u201cIn cooperation with Kirameki 2 launched last year, I believe this launch is very meaningful and will greatly contribute to the operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hylas 4 communications satellite, built by Orbital ATK, will provide high-speed broadband services across Europe and Africa. Owned by London-based Avanti Communications, Hylas 4 will provide connectivity to mobile network operators and Internet providers, and beam high-speed services to civilian and defense users in governments.<\/p>\n

Hylas 4 joins two other satellites in Avanti\u2019s network, and the newest addition is set to double the company\u2019s broadband capacity, according to David Bestwick, Avanti\u2019s chief technology officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHylas 4 is extremely important to Avanti,\u201d Bestwick said in remarks after Thursday\u2019s launch. \u201cIt more than doubles the communications capacity that we have in orbit, and it completes our coverage of Africa and the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new spacecraft carries 64 fixed Ka-band beams that can reach Avanti customers in Europe and Africa. Four additional steerable Ka-band beams aboard Hylas 4 can also provide coverage over Europe, Africa and South America.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe World Bank has said that if a country can increase its broadband penetration by 10 percent, then an increase in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of 4 percent will follow,\u201d Bestick said. \u201cNow with Hylas 4 in orbit with 100 gigabits per second of capacity, we want to help all the nations of Africa achieve that objective.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the two satellites it owns, Avanti leases Ka-band capacity on an SES-owned communications satellite, and plans to launch another broadband spacecraft on an Ariane 5 rocket in 2019 in a public-private partnership with the European Space Agency.<\/p>\n

The 8,928-pound (4,050-kilogram) satellite is based on Orbital ATK\u2019s GEOStar 3 spacecraft platform. It carries a hydrazine-fueled thruster to conduct five major orbit-raising burns over the next 10 days, followed by the extension of the satellite\u2019s power-generating solar panels to their full span April 15.<\/p>\n

Testing of the Hylas 4 satellite\u2019s Ka-band telecom payload will begin April 19.<\/p>\n

Both satellites launched Thursday have missions expected to last at least 15 years.<\/p>\n

Arianespace\u2019s next mission is scheduled for May 25, when an Ariane 5 rocket will place into orbit the Indian GSAT 11 communications satellite and Azerspace 2\/Intelsat 38, a television broadcast spacecraft shared by Azerbaijan\u2019s national satellite operator and Intelsat.<\/p>\n

Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A European Ariane 5 rocket lifts off Thursday from French Guiana. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 S. Martin Boosted by two solid-fueled motors and a hydrogen-burning main engine, a European Ariane 5 rocket took off Thursday from French Guiana with a Japanese military communications payload and a U.S.-built, British-owned broadband satellite, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1540,2448,498,2564,291,2994,2995,1773],"class_list":["post-13889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-ariane-5","tag-ariane-group","tag-arianespace","tag-avanti-communications","tag-commercial-space","tag-dsn","tag-dsn-1-superbird-8","tag-guiana-space-center"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13889"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}