Europe’s Ariane 5 has delivered two telecom satellites, SES-17 and Syracuse-4A, into their planned...
Europe's Ariane 5 has delivered two telecom satellites, SES-17 and Syracuse-4A, into their planned orbits.
"For this launch, we increased the Ariane 5 fairing volume by attaching a 1.5 m raising cylinder to accommodate these two very large, stacked satellites. The development and qualification of this adaptation was funded by ESA. Today's launch of 11.2 t to geostationary transfer orbit is a record performance for Ariane 5," said Daniel de Chambure, ESA's Acting Head of Ariane 5 adaptation and future missions.
SES-17, with a launch mass of 6411 kg, in the upper berth of the fairing was released first.
Following a series of burns controlled by Ariane's computer, the Sylda structure encasing the 3852 kg Syracuse-4A payload was jettisoned.
The performance requested for this Ariane launch was 11 210 kg.
"Ariane 5 demonstrates continuous improvement with each launch. The success today of launch VA255 and the success of VA254 last July were crucial to move towards Ariane 5's December launch carrying the James Webb Space Telescope," commented Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Space Transportation.
Ariane 5 is operated by Arianespace at Europe's Spaceport.
Its performance perfectly complements that of Europe's Vega light-lift launch vehicle, and Soyuz.
Europe's next-generation Ariane 6 rocket will eventually replace Ariane 5.
Available in two versions, it will be capable of a wide range of missions to any orbit.