Arianespace has successfully
orbited two geostationary satellites:
TIBA-1, for Thales Alenia Space and
Airbus Defence and Space on behalf of
the Government of Egypt; and GX5 for the
operator Inmarsat.
The launch took place
on Tuesday, November 26, 2019 at 18:23 p.m.
(local time) from the Guiana Space Center
(CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French
Guiana (South America).
With this latest
success, Arianespace once again proves its
ability to support all satellite systems,
even the most innovative, for both
institutional and commercial customers.
Today’s launch also
marks the 250th Ariane mission, a series
that started with the first launch on
December 24, 1979.
Following the launch,
Arianespace Chief Executive Officer Stéphane
Israël said: “Arianespace is very proud to
have launched the 250th Ariane on our eighth
mission of the year, for Thales Alenia Space
and Airbus Defence and Space on behalf of
the Government of Egypt, and for a leading
operator, Inmarsat, which has entrusted
Ariane for 10 of its satellite launches.
“Over the past 40
years, the Ariane family has guaranteed both
autonomous access to space for Europe and
record availability for customers from
around the world. Therefore, Arianespace
fulfills its fundamental mission: to put
space at the service of a better life on
Earth. And the Ariane story will continue
next year with the advent of Ariane 6, that
perfectly addresses the evolving needs of
our customers.”
Arianespace at the
service of telecommunications in Egypt
TIBA-1 is a civil and
government telecommunications satellite for
Egypt developed by Thales Alenia Space and
Airbus Defense and Space as co-prime
contractors. Thales Alenia Space is the
consortium’s lead, and Airbus Defense and
Space is the direct Arianespace customer for
this mission. TIBA-1 will be owned and
operated by the government of Egypt.
TIBA-1 is the fourth
satellite to be launched by Arianespace for
Egypt, with Arianespace having deployed the
three satellites for the operator Nilesat
between 1998 and 2010. TIBA-1 also is the
22nd satellite launched by Arianespace for a
mission in the cooperation between Airbus
Defense and Space and Thales Alenia Space.
GX5: Arianespace
continues a long-standing partnership with
Inmarsat
GX5 marks the 10th time
since 1981 that Inmarsat has chosen
Arianespace, reflecting the strength of this
long-standing partnership.
Inmarsat GX5 is a
mobile communications satellite built by
Thales Alenia Space for Inmarsat. It will
provide mobile services across the Middle
East, Europe and the Indian sub-continent.
As the most advanced
satellite in the GX constellation, GX5 will
deliver greater capacity than the entire
existing GX fleet combined (GX1-GX4). A very
high throughput satellite (VHTS), GX5 will
address the rapid growth in customer demand
for GX services in Europe and the Middle
East, particularly for satellite Ka-band
Wi-Fi services from the Global Xpress (GX)
fleet.
Ariane: 40 years of
technical success to make life better on
Earth
Today’s mission, VA250,
marks a symbolic milestone in the history of
Ariane, since it was the 250th Ariane launch
since December 24, 1979 – when the
cornerstone Ariane 1 version performed its
maiden flight.
Just a few weeks away
from celebrating its 40th anniversary,
Ariane has built up an impressive record – a
source of pride for all of Europe:
In 40 years
(1979-2019), Ariane will have launched 451
satellites, for a total weight injected into
orbit of nearly 1,302 metric tons.
From Ariane 1 to Ariane
5, payload capacity into geostationary
transfer orbit (GTO) has increased 10-fold,
(from 1,073 kg. in 1979 for the maiden
Flight L01 mission, to 10,495 kg. in 2019
for Flight VA250).
124 customers have
chosen Ariane to deploy their missions.
31 different
manufacturers have built the satellites
carried by Ariane launchers.
During these past 40
years, Ariane has completed many iconic
missions, such as launching the Galileo
satellites, orbiting ATVs for servicing the
International Space Station, launching the
Herschel & Planck telescopes, and lofting
the Rosetta spacecraft.
Arianespace looks
forward to further milestones as well. For
instance, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope
will be launched by an Ariane 5 in 2021,
while the JUICE mission to Jupiter’s moons
will be launched from 2022 by Ariane.
After the completion of
Ariane 5 operations in 2022, Ariane 6 will
reach its full operational capacity in 2023.