Article Posted on : - May 19, 2010

A file photo.

EVRY (BNS): Arianespace has scheduled the launch date for the next heavy-lift Ariane 5 mission on Friday, May 21. The expendable launch system will carry a mixed payload of commercial and military telecommunications satellites.

The 50th launch of Ariane 5 will take place with ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2 spacecraft, at 7:01 p.m. local time in French Guiana, as reported in an Arianespace news release.

In this mission, ASTRA 3B is positioned in the upper side of Ariane 5’s dual-payload “stack,” with COMSATBw-2 installed below it, housed inside a 6.4 meter-tall SYLDA 5 dispenser. The payloads are protected by a 17-meter-tall fairing, which will be jettisoned after the launcher’s initial ascent through the atmosphere’s dense layers.

Arianespace will locate the ASTRA 3B Ku- and Ka-band spacecraft at SES ASTRA’s 23.5 degrees east. ASTRA’s orbital position for delivering Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcast services is produced by EADS Astrium.

The design of COMSATBw-2 satellites is based on the Space-bus 3000B2 satellite bus. It is integrated and tested by Thales Alenia Space on behalf of EADS Astrium. It will deliver key communications services for the German Bundeswehr (German armed forces).

COMSATBw-2 will also provide a secure broadband network which guarantees uninterrupted communications between the government, military authorities and armed forces deployed around the world.