{"id":15301,"date":"2016-08-19T18:07:13","date_gmt":"2016-08-19T10:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/ariane-5-receives-payloads-for-launch-next-week\/"},"modified":"2016-08-19T18:07:13","modified_gmt":"2016-08-19T10:07:13","slug":"ariane-5-receives-payloads-for-launch-next-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/ariane-5-receives-payloads-for-launch-next-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Ariane 5 receives payloads for launch next week"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Ariane 5 rocket\u2019s 17.7-foot-diamter (5.4 meter) nose cone encloses the Intelsat 33e and Intelsat 36 satellites in the upper and lower positions. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 S. Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two U.S.-built Intelsat communications satellites have hitched on to an Ariane 5 rocket for launch from French Guiana next week, the first time the storied company has put two of its spacecraft on the same booster.<\/p>\n

The spacecraft, both owned by Intelsat but intended for different missions, will blast off on top of the Ariane 5 launcher Aug. 24 at 2155 GMT (5:55 p.m. EDT), the opening of the day\u2019s 45-minute launch window.<\/p>\n

Ground crews topped off the 180-foot-tall (55-meter) Ariane 5 rocket inside the final assembly building at the Guiana Space Center last weekend.<\/p>\n

The Intelsat 33e and Intelsat 36 satellites were transported one-by-one from separate processing clean rooms at the space center to the Ariane 5\u2019s final assembly building.<\/p>\n

The Boeing-built Intelsat 33e satellite, the second in a series of modernized \u201cIntelsat Epic\u201d communications craft, arrived at the rocket assembly structure first. Workers mated the 14,550-pound (6.6-metric ton) spacecraft on top of the Ariane 5\u2019s Sylda adapter Aug. 9, then enclosed Intelsat 33e inside the rocket\u2019s nose cone.<\/p>\n

\"Technicians
Technicians install the Intelsat 36 satellite onto the upper stage of the Ariane 5 rocket. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 J. Durrenberger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Intelsat 36 spacecraft, made by Space Systems\/Loral, arrived at the final assembly building Aug. 11 and was lifted on top of the Ariane 5\u2019s second stage a day later. The 7,171-pound (3,253-kilogram) satellite will offer direct-to-home television services to South Africa and other communications services across Africa and the Indian Ocean region.<\/p>\n

On Aug. 13, ground crews completed the payload integration procedures by lowering the tip of the Ariane 5 rocket \u2014 containing Intelsat 33e, the Sylda dual-payload attach fitting, and the fairing \u2014 over the top of Intelsat 36 and the second stage.<\/p>\n

The payloads were added to the rocket nearly a month after technicians completed stacking of the Ariane 5 inside the nearby launcher integration building. The Ariane\u20195 hydrogen-fueled core stage was erected first July 9, followed by the addition of the rocket\u2019s two strap-on boosters July 11. The rocket\u2019s second stage was hoisted on top of the Ariane 5 on July 15.<\/p>\n

The rocket was transferred from the launcher integration building to the nearby final assembly building Aug. 3.<\/p>\n

\"Mounted
Mounted on its mobile launch table, the Ariane 5 rolled out from the launcher integration building to the final assembly building Aug. 3. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 S. Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The launch team conducted a countdown rehearsal Thursday, and plans called for engineers to arm the Ariane 5 booster Friday. A launch readiness review is on tap Monday, followed by rollout of the Ariane 5 on rails for the 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) trip the ELA-3 launch zone Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Ariane 5 will be fueled with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants Wednesday afternoon, leading to liftoff a few minutes after sunset in French Guiana.<\/p>\n

After taking off and turning east over the Atlantic Ocean, the two-stage rocket will first deploy the Intelsat 33e satellite at T+plus 28 minutes, 47 seconds, a few minutes after it reaches a targeted geosynchronous transfer orbit. Once Intelsat 33e separates, the rocket will jettison the barrel-shaped Sylda adapter to reveal Intelsat 36 for release at T+plus 41 minutes, 50 seconds.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s launch will mark the fourth Ariane 5 flight of 2016, and the sixth Arianespace mission overall this year, including two Soyuz launches from the spaceport on the northeastern cost of South America.<\/p>\n

It will be the 87th Ariane 5 launch overall since 1996, and the 57th flight by the Ariane 5 ECA configuration with a cryogenic upper stage. The flight is codenamed VA232, short for Vol Ariane 232, and is the 231st launch by a member of the Ariane rocket family since 1979.<\/p>\n

The Ariane launch manifest is currently out of order due to delays in satellite availability. The next Ariane 5 flight set for Oct. 4 takes the VA231 number.<\/p>\n

More photos of the Ariane 5 rocket receiving the Intelsat 33e and Intelsat 36 satellites are posted below.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Intelsat 33e satellite is prepared for mating with the Ariane 5\u2019s Sylda adapter structure. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 J. Durrenberger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Credit:
Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 J. Durrenberger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Credit:
Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 J. Durrenberger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A member of the ground team closely monitors the attach plane between Intelsat 33e satellite and the Sylda adapter. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 J. Durrenberger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The top of the Ariane 5 rocket\u2019s payload fairing is lifted over the Intelsat 33e satellite and the Sylda dual-payload support structure. Credit: P. Piron<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Credit:
Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 P. Piron<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Credit:
Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 P. Piron<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The Intelsat 36 satellite, set to ride in the Ariane 5\u2019s lower payload position, is lowered onto the rocket\u2019s second stage inside the final assembly building. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 J. Durrenberger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Technicians
Technicians check the position of the Intelsat 36 satellite on the Ariane 5 rocket\u2019s second stage. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 J. Durrenberger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"With
With the Intelsat 33e satellite already inside, the Ariane 5\u2019s payload fairing is ready to be installed over Intelsat 36 on the rocket\u2019s second stage Aug. 13. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 S. Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Credit:
Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 S. Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Credit:
Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 S. Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

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

The Ariane 5 rocket\u2019s 17.7-foot-diamter (5.4 meter) nose cone encloses the Intelsat 33e and Intelsat 36 satellites in the upper and lower positions. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 S. Martin Two U.S.-built Intelsat communications satellites have hitched on to an Ariane 5 rocket for launch from French Guiana next week, the […]<\/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":[1540,498,670,1628,1773,1255,3433,3618],"class_list":["post-15301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-ariane-5","tag-arianespace","tag-boeing","tag-boeing-702mp","tag-guiana-space-center","tag-intelsat","tag-intelsat-33e","tag-intelsat-36"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15301"}],"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=15301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15301\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}