{"id":16023,"date":"2015-10-01T23:01:14","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T15:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/ariane-launch-aids-australian-and-argentine-satellite-initiatives\/"},"modified":"2015-10-01T23:01:14","modified_gmt":"2015-10-01T15:01:14","slug":"ariane-launch-aids-australian-and-argentine-satellite-initiatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/ariane-launch-aids-australian-and-argentine-satellite-initiatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Ariane launch aids Australian and Argentine satellite initiatives"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Ariane 5 rocket lifted off at 5:30 p.m. French Guiana time (2030 GMT; 4:30 p.m. EDT) Friday with the Sky Muster and Arsat 2 telecom satellites. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 P. Baudon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A European Ariane 5 rocket fired into a clear blue sky over French Guiana on Wednesday, delivering to space a powerhouse satellite for Australia\u2019s government-backed $1.2 billion nationwide universal broadband network and Argentina\u2019s second communications satellite.<\/p>\n

After a smooth countdown that started before dawn Wednesday, the Ariane 5 rocket\u2019s clean-burning Vulcain 2 main engine lit with a rush of flame at 2030 GMT (4:30 p.m.), followed by a computer-run status check and ignition of two powerful solid rocket boosters to propel the 18-story launcher skyward.<\/p>\n

Packed with two satellites with a combined weight of nearly 10.4 tons, the Ariane 5 soared east from its jungle launch pad, spanning the Atlantic Ocean in less than a half-hour before the rocket\u2019s second stage HM7B engine switched off after reaching an elliptical geostationary transfer orbit.<\/p>\n

Then came delicate maneuvers by the Ariane 5 upper stage to deploy the dual payloads \u2014 first Australia\u2019s 14,197-pound Sky Muster broadband Internet satellite, then Argentina\u2019s 6,563-pound Arsat 2 telecom station.<\/p>\n

The late afternoon liftoff marked the Ariane 5\u2019s fifth flight of the year, and the heavy-lifter\u2019s 82nd mission since 1996.<\/p>\n

The owners of both satellites confirmed ground controllers established contact with the newly-launched craft, which were in good shape following Wednesday\u2019s trek to orbit. Each satellite will conduct orbit-raising burns over the next few weeks to circularize their paths around Earth at 22,300 miles altitude over the equator.<\/p>\n

Mission managers declared the launch a success during traditional post-launch speeches inside the Jupiter control center at the French Guiana space base.<\/p>\n

\u201cArianespace is delighted to announce that Sky Muster and Arsat 2 were separated as planned in their targeted standard geostationary transfer orbit,\u201d said Stephane Israel, chairman and CEO of Arianespace. \u201cTonight, Arianespace is happy to celebrate Ariane 5\u2019s 68th success in a row with two regional operators coming from two great nations of the southern hemisphere, Australia and Argentina, with whom we have established strong partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sky Muster is the first of two huge communications satellites ordered by NBN Co., an enterprise established by the Australian government to set up a nationwide broadband system to ensure every Australian home and business is connected by 2020.<\/p>\n

The network will eventually reach eight million homes and businesses, many through terrestrial fiber connections, but around 200,000 customers will require satellites to achieve broadband speeds.<\/p>\n

Ziggy Switkowski, chairman of NBN, said the successful launch was a \u201chuge relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Sky Muster satellite is pictured inside a test facility at Space Systems\/Loral in Palo Alto, California. Credit: Space Systems\/Loral<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA huge amount of work has gone into this moment,\u201d Switkowski said in remarks from French Guiana. \u201cThousands of people on both sides of the Pacific, and right across the world, have worked tirelessly to make this launch successful. It\u2019s a significant moment for all of us in Australia. It\u2019s truly a historic moment for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

NBN spent approximately $1.2 billion on the Internet-from-space program, and the end result is two spacecraft among the most capable commercial satellites ever manufactured.<\/p>\n

Switkowski called the project a \u201cnation-building program,\u201d highlighting its reach into underserved regions in the bush and the Australian outback. He said the satellites \u201cwill help the bush, the outback and its industries operate more efficiently and productively.\u201d<\/p>\n

From their positions 22,000 miles above Earth, the NBN satellites will each broadcast through 101 spot beams covering all of Australia and offshore territories. Users can expect to see download speeds up to 25 megabits per second, and upload rates of 5 megabits per second, according to NBN\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralians will be able to live in remote areas in aboriginal communities, and yet still be economically active via the connectivity this space platform will provide,\u201d Switkowski said.<\/p>\n

Made by Space Systems\/Loral in Palo Alto, California, the NBN satellites broadcast in Ka-band signals, and the satellites are so large the manufacturer had to introduce new antenna boom designs to fit inside rocket\u2019s fairing enclosure.<\/p>\n

Six-year-old Australian primary school student Bailey Brooks selected the Sky Muster name for the first NBN satellite after a nationwide competition.<\/p>\n

\"Artist's
Artist\u2019s concept of the Arsat 2 satellite. Credit: Arsat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Arsat 2 satellite accompanied Sky Muster on Wednesday\u2019s rocket ride, becoming Argentina\u2019s second geostationary communications satellite.<\/p>\n

\u201cArsat 2 has just made a big step, and I\u2019m glad to say that we\u2019ve already been able to communicate with this satellite in Benavidez (near Buenos Aires),\u201d said Matias Bianchi, president of Arsat. \u201cWe\u2019ve received the first signals, so everything is all right. Everything is going as planned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Made in Patagonia by Argentina\u2019s INVAP industrial contractor, Arsat 2\u2019s launch comes nearly one year after Arsat 1\u2019s deployment to become Argentina\u2019s first large-class telecom satellite.<\/p>\n

Equipped with transponders in Ku-band and C-band, Arsat 2 is tailored for direct-to-home television broadcasts, Internet services, data networking and telephone applications. Its mission is expected to last at least 15 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have a month\u2019s work to do,\u201d Bianchi said. \u201cWe need to bring the satellite to its final position to carry out commissioning tests, and once this is done, we\u2019ll cover the orbital position at 81 degrees west, and this is very important for us because this is part of Arsat\u2019s raison d\u2019etre.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Argentine government chartered Arsat to secure the nation\u2019s rights to the 81 degrees west orbital slot.<\/p>\n

Bianchi said the Arsat 1 satellite is fully operational, serving schools, providing 25,000 households with digital television, and helping scientists in Antarctica keep in touch with their families.<\/p>\n

Before Wednesday\u2019s launch, Arsat signed an agreement with Arianespace for the launch of the Arsat 3 spacecraft on an Ariane 5 rocket in 2019, plus options for two more satellite launches through 2023.<\/p>\n

The next Ariane 5 mission is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 10 with the Arabsat 6B and GSAT 15 communications satellites for customers from Saudi Arabia and India.<\/p>\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 lifted off at 5:30 p.m. French Guiana time (2030 GMT; 4:30 p.m. EDT) Friday with the Sky Muster and Arsat 2 telecom satellites. Credit: ESA\/CNES\/Arianespace \u2013 Photo Optique Video du CSG \u2013 P. Baudon A European Ariane 5 rocket fired into a clear blue sky over French Guiana on Wednesday, delivering […]<\/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":[2014,1540,498,3940,3941,1812,1773,2074],"class_list":["post-16023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-argentina","tag-ariane-5","tag-arianespace","tag-arsat","tag-arsat-2","tag-australia","tag-guiana-space-center","tag-invap"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16023"}],"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=16023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16023\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}