Ariane 5 ECA orbits Astra 2F and GSAT10 satellites

September 28, 2012,

Arianespace successfully carried out the 51st Ariane 5 launch in a row, orbiting two telecommunications satellites: Astra 2F, which mainly provides direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast services for the Luxembourg-based operator SES, and the GSAT-10 communications satellite for the Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO.

Arianespace's latest successful mission, the fifth Ariane 5 launch in 2012, also further confirms the European launch system's operational capabilities. Ariane 5 is the only commercial satellite launcher now on the market capable of simultaneously launching two payloads and handling a complete range of missions, from launches of commercial satellites into geostationary orbit, to dedicated launches into special orbits.

Arianespace and SES have developed an exceptional relationship of mutual trust reaching back more than 20 years. Astra 2F is the 36th satellite from the SES group (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Bourse: SESG) to use an Ariane launcher. SES operates the leading direct-to-home (DTH) TV broadcast system in Europe, based on its Astra satellites, serving more than 135 million households via DTH and cable networks.

GSAT-10 is the 15th ISRO satellite to use the European launcher. Since the launch of the Apple experimental satellite on Flight L03 in 1981, Arianespace had already orbited 14 Indian satellites.

Astra 2F/GSAT-10 mission at a glance

The mission was carried out by an Ariane 5 ECA launcher from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Liftoff was on Friday, September 28, 2012 at 6:18 pm local time in Kourou (5:18 pm in Washington, D.C., 21:18 UT, 11:18 pm in Paris, and on Saturday, September 29 at 2:48 am in Bangalore).