Just arriving and preparing for the launch is the HOT BIRD-10 satellite for Arianespace's initial Ariane 5 mission of 2009, which was delivered to French Guiana aboard a chartered cargo jetliner for its transatlantic trip from Europe.

This spacecraft will be orbited as part of a multi-passenger payload on the February 12th flight, which will mark the start of another busy year of operations for Arianespace's workhorse heavy-lift launch vehicle. HOT BIRD-10 will be used by the Paris-based Eutelsat telecommunications operator, and is to be located at the company's 13° East orbital location for video broadcast services. The spacecraft is based on EADS Astrium's Eurostar 3000 spacecraft bus design, and is identical to the HOT BIRD-9 relay platform successfully orbited by Arianespace's year-ending 2008 mission with Ariane 5 on December 20th. Photo HOT BIRD 10 is unloaded in its shipping container from the An-124 cargo aircraft at Cayenne’s Rochambeau International Airport.

For the upcoming Ariane 5 mission, HOT BIRD-10 will be joined by SES NEWSKIES' NSS-9 telecommunications satellite and two Spirale auxiliary passengers, which are demonstrators for a French defense spaceborn optical early warning system. Arianespace is targeting six to eight Ariane 5 missions in 2009.