Arianespace is maintaining its Ariane 5 mission pace with this week's delivery of the third heavy-lift vehicle to be launched in 2009 from the Spaceport in French Guiana.


TerreStar satellite The latest Ariane 5 ECA arrived Wednesday, March 4th, aboard the MN Colibri, one of two roll-on/roll-off vessels used to transport launch vehicles from their production sites in Europe to French Guiana. This new vehicle will carry TerreStar-1 on a mission planned for the Spring. TerreStar-1 is one of the world's largest commercial communications satellites, and will ride as a solo passenger on the dedicated Ariane 5. Arianespace is targeting seven Ariane 5 missions in 2009.  Its year-opening launch on February 12th orbited the HOT BIRDT 10 and NSS-9 telecommunications satellites, along with two Spirale auxiliary passengers for a French defense early warning system.  Preparations are now underway for the second launch of 2009, which is set for April 16th, with two European space science payloads to explore the universe's origins: the Herschel telescope and Planck observatory.