Arianespace has received the sixth Ariane 5 for launch in 2015, keeping the company on track for a record year of mission activity with its complete launcher family at the Spaceport in French Guiana.
The heavy-lift Ariane 5 was transferred this week from the Launcher Assembly Building, where it underwent the integration process performed by prime contractor Airbus Safran Launchers, to the Final Assembly Building for installation of this mission’s two payloads – Arabsat-6B and GSAT-15 – under Arianespace responsibility.
Designated Flight VA227, the upcoming mission is scheduled for a November 10 liftoff from the Spaceport’s ELA-3 launch zone.
Riding in the Ariane 5’s upper payload will be Arabsat-6B, to be lofted for Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space as part of a turnkey contract with Arabsat – an Arab League intergovernmental organization. Operated by Arabsat, the satellite is to be renamed BADR-7 once in orbit, providing telecommunications and TV broadcast services for the Middle East and Africa.
The mission’s GSAT-15 passenger will be deployed from Ariane 5’s lower payload position. This spacecraft was developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation to provide C- and Ku-band telecommunications services.
Arianespace is targeting a total of 12 launches from the Spaceport in 2015, marking its busiest year ever. In addition to the five heavy-lift Ariane 5 flights already performed since January, the company has conducted two with the medium-lift Soyuz and another two with the lightweight Vega.
