Article Posted on : - Aug 27, 2008

SINGAPORE (BNS): Arianespace, world's leading space company, will launch Korea's latest communication satellite, Koreasat 6. The launch is being prepared for second half of 2010.

An Ariane 5 or Soyuz rocket, launched from the Guiana Space Centre, would place Koreasat 6 into geostationary transfer orbit.

This is the second time when Korean Telecom Corporation (KT Corporation) has chosen Arianespace to launch its satellite. In 1999, the European space company had launched Koreasat 3.

Arianespace will carry another Korean satellite COMS-1, a multi-mission satellite for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).
Koreasat 6 will weigh 2750 kg at launch. It is being built by Thales Aenia Space using a Star-2 platform from Orbital Sciences Corporation of the United States. The satellite, with a design life of more than 15 years, would have 30- Ku-band transponders for providing telecommunications and broadcasting services from its orbital position at 116 degree east.

"We are extremely proud and honoured to be chosen for the second time by Korea Telecom Corporation," Arianespace Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said. "Our selection is the clear recognition of the high quality and overall excellence of Arianespace's launch Service & Solutions," Gall said.

Arianespace is backed by the European Space Agency and it has launched 263 satellites for various space companies around the world. The number is half of all the commercial satellites in space right now. It has a business backlog of more than three years with nearly 25 Ariane 5 and 10 Soyuz launches.