Ariane 5 nears completion of its transfer as the heavy-lift vehicle moves into the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch zone. Photo is courtesy of Arianespace.
The Ariane 5 launch vehicle is now set for August 4th's evening mission from French Guiana and is poised for liftoff following its rollout to the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch zone. The heavy-lift vehicle was transferred to the launch pad on August 3rd and emerged at 11:00 a.m. local time from the Final Assembly Building, where the Ariane 5 ECA version had been fitted with a pair of Thales Alenia Space-produced satellite payloads: NILESAT 201 and RASCOM-QAF1R. This step clears the way for final preparations and the countdown to liftoff, which will take place during a 109-minute launch window that opens at 5:45 p.m. local time in French Guiana on August 4th. Riding as the upper passenger in Ariane 5's payload "stack" is NILESAT 201, which will be released at just under 29 minutes into the flight. Using a Spacebus 4000B2 platform, this relay platform for Egyptian operator Nilesat features 24 Ku- and 4 Ka-band transponders, and will weigh approximately 3,200 kg. at launch. RASCOM-QAF1R, which has a liftoff mass of about 3,050 kg., will be deployed from Ariane 5's lower passenger position at approximately 33 minutes into the flight. This spacecraft will ensure service continuity for the RascomStar-QAF operator and its customers, providing African access to advanced communications and information technologies. It is based on the Spacebus 4000B3 platform, and is equipped with 12 Ku- and 8 C-band transponders.
The August 4th mission is designated V196, signifying the 196th launch of an Ariane family vehicle since 1979. This mission also will be Ariane 5's third flight of 2010, which follows two previous dual-payload launches: the June 26th mission that orbited the Arabsat-5A and COMS spacecraft, and the May 21st launch with ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2.