An Ariane 5 rocket, operated by European Launch Service provider Arianespace, launched on its 109th scheduled flight, designated VA253, on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The heavy lift rocket was scheduled to launch from pad Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3 (ELA-3) at Europe\u2019s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 31 July 2020. However, a hold was called, under two minutes to launch. Efforts to return to the countdown within the launch window were unsuccessful, resulting in a scrub and a rollback for a replacement of a sensor inside the liquid hydrogen tank in the launcher\u2019s main cryogenic stage. <\/p>\n
VA253 marked the 253rd flight of an Ariane rocket since L-01, the first flight of the Ariane 1, on 24 December 1979.<\/p>\n
The Ariane 5 rocket for this mission was integrated with its payloads earlier in July and rolled out to the pad, ELA-3, on Thursday, 30 July.<\/p>\n
Three separate spacecraft comprise the dual-launch payload for this mission, including Galaxy 30, Mission Extension Vehicle-2, and BSAT-4b.<\/p>\n
Riding in the \u201clower passenger\u201d position inside the SYLDA (Syst\u00e8me de Lancement Double Ariane \u2014 \u201cAriane Double-Launch System\u201d) is BSAT-4b, a broadcasting satellite built by Space Systems\/Loral (SSL), a subsidiary of Maxar Technologies. The satellite is based on the SSL-1300 spacecraft bus. <\/p>\n
BSAT-4b is owned and operated by Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (BSAT), which provides communication and broadcasting satellite services for Japan.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n