Payload integration of Arianespace's sixth Ariane 5 for launch in 2009 has begun at the Spaceport, with the mission's lower payload, THOR 6 for Telenor Satellite Broadcasting, now installed atop the heavy-lift vehicle. THOR 6 is hoisted inside the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building for installation on Ariane 5’s central core stage. This telecommunications satellite will be orbited along with SES WORLD SKIES’ NSS-12 relay platform on the upcoming Ariane 5 launch.

This activity is taking place inside the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building, where the Ariane 5 has entered its last phase of preparations leading to an evening liftoff on October 29.  THOR 6 is located as the lower passenger, and will be joined by SES WORLD SKIES' NSS-12 spacecraft, which is to ride in the upper position of Ariane 5's payload "stack."

The 3,050-kg. THOR 6 relay platform is outfitted 36 Ku-band transponders 16 of which will serve the Nordic countries, while the other 20 will provide capacity for growing broadcasting demands within Central and Eastern Europe. It is based on Thales Alenia Space's Spacebus 4000B2 spacecraft configuration, and has a design lifetime of 15 years.

THOR 6 is to deliver high-power direct-to-home television services from the 1 deg. West orbital position, strengthening Telenor Satellite Broadcasting's television coverage over Central and Eastern Europe, while also providing additional capacity in the Nordic region.