Article Posted on : - Mar 17, 2011

Ariane 5

WASHINGTON (BNS): Arianespace has signed a launch Service & Solutions contract with Argentine operator ARSAT to orbit its Arsat-2 satellite by the second half of 2013.

Weighing about 2,900 kg at launch, Arsat-2 will be placed into geostationary transfer orbit by an Ariane 5 or Soyuz launcher from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Arsat-2 will be fitted with 26 Ku-band (2 beams) and 10 C-band (hemi beam) equivalent transponders.

It will offer a wide range of telecommunications, data transmission, Internet and television services, primarily across the Americas from Argentina to Canada.

The satellite is being built by the Argentine company INVAP, with Astrium and Thales Alenia Space as leading equipment suppliers.

Arsat-2 will be the third Argentine satellite launched by Arianespace, following Nahuel 1A orbited in 1997 and Arsat-1 to be launched in mid 2012.