ARIANESPACE / ESA - Flight VA216 Mission poster.
March 22, 2014
Ariane Flight VA216
Images above: Ariane 5 performs another on-time lift-off from the Spaceport (photo at left) and ascends through a low cloud deck with its dual payload.
The workhorse Ariane 5 orbited a pair of payloads – ASTRA 5B for SES and HISPASAT’S Amazonas 4A – this evening, continuing the relationships with two customers that have come to rely on Arianespace’s launch services.
LIFTOFF of Ariane-V VA216 carrying Astra-5B and Amazonas-4A
Lifting off from the Spaceport in French Guiana, Flight VA216 provided a total payload lift performance of just under 9,580 kg. on the delivery mission to geostationary transfer orbit. It was one of multiple launch campaigns currently underway for Arianespace missions, covering its full launcher family – composed of the heavy-lift Ariane 5, medium-lift Soyuz and light-lift Vega.
VA216 - Mission Accomplished!
ASTRA 5B was deployed by Ariane 5 at 27 minutes into the mission, with Amazonas 4A separated from the launcher at 34 minutes after liftoff.
This was Ariane 5’s second flight in 2014, and the 73rd overall launch of the vehicle – continuing its on-target track record with the 59th consecutive success. The mission was designated Flight VA216 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system.
ASTRA 5B was produced by Airbus Defence and Space using a Eurostar 3000 L platform, and had a mass at liftoff of approximately 5,755 kg. It is fitted with 40 active Ku-band and 6 Ka-band transponders, and will be positioned at 31.5 degrees East.
ASTRA 5B satellite
Amazonas 4A was the eighth satellite launched by Arianespace for Spain, and is part of the Amazonas relay platform series that is expanding HISPASAT’s business over South America.
Amazonas 4A satellite
As the 25th Orbital Sciences Corporation-built satellite launched by Arianespace, Amazonas 4A is based on a GEOStar-2.4 platform, and weighed in at about 3,000 kg. for liftoff. This high-power satellite’s 24 active Ku-band transponders will provide a broad range of telecommunications services across all of South America, and has a design life of 15 years.
In addition to tonight’s Ariane 5 success, parallel preparations are underway at the Spaceport for Arianespace’s next mission – Soyuz Flight VS07, scheduled for liftoff on April 3 with Europe’s Sentinel-1A; and Vega Flight VV03 with the European-built DZZ-HR multi-mission satellite for Kazakhstan. The European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Georges Lemaître is at the Spaceport undergoing checkout in advance of an Ariane 5 mission in July for servicing of the International Space Station.
Related links:
Airbus Defence and Space website: http://www.astrium.eads.net/
SES website: http://www.ses.com/
HISPASAT website: http://www.hispasat.com/
Orbital Sciences Corporation website: http://www.orbital.com/
Images, Video, Text, Credits: Arianespace / Arianespace TV / Astrium / Gunter's Space Page / Screen captures: Orbiter.ch Aerospace.
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