Kourou (AFP)
For the 250th time, the Ariane 5 launcher succeeded on Tuesday, after two postponements, to place two telecommunications satellites, announced at the end of the ArianeGroup mission by press release.
Ariane 5, launched from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana, successfully completed on Tuesday its mission to put two telecommunications satellites into orbit on behalf of the British operator Inmarsat and Egypt according to ArianeGroup.
Ariane 5 took off at 18H23 local time (22H23 France time, 21H23 GMT), with on board the two satellites with a takeoff weight of 9.6 tonnes.
The shooting, originally scheduled for November 22 had been postponed for the first time, Monday, because of an "anomaly" had announced Arianespace, the company in charge of launch operations.
Then, "adverse weather conditions", of the rainy season in Guyana had generated a second postponement of 24 hours.
TIBA-1 is a civil and government telecommunications satellite launched by Arianespace for Egypt. The satellite was developed by Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defense and Space.
TIBA-1 marks the "first launch" on behalf of the "Egyptian government" by Arianespace stressed at the end of the mission Stephane Israel, the CEO of Arianespace.
GX5 is a mobile telecommunications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for the British operator Inmarsat. It "will support the rapid rise in demand for services from its customers in Europe and the Middle East, especially for Wi-Fi connections on commercial flights and for commercial maritime services," Arianespace said.
At the end of the operations, André-Hubert Roussel, ArianeGroup's Chief Executive Officer, welcomed the "ArianeGroup's 250 launches in 40 years" and welcomed the "next 11 launches by 2022".
"The adventure continues with Ariane 6, which will make its first flight next year," said the CEO of ArianeGroup.
This is the 4th launch of the year for an Ariane 5, and the 8th rocket launch since January 2019 at the Guiana Space Center (CSG).
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