Intelsat 907 Readied for Ariane 4 Launch

Intelsat 907 undergoes preparation for launch at Kourou. The satellite's characteristics are very similar to Intelsat 906 and will be located at 332.5°E. It will offer services over the Americas, Europe and Africa. (CNES/Arianespace photo)

Kourou, French Guiana/January 16, 2003/Satnews Daily/ — Pre-launch preparations are underway on Intelsat 907 spacecraft following the telecommunications platform's arrival yesterday in French Guiana.

The satellite was positioned atop its adapter in the traditional fit-check validation, which was performed in the Spaceport's S1B facility. The cone-shaped adapter serves as the interface between Intelsat 907 and the Ariane 4 launch vehicle.

Launch of Flight 159 - the final mission for an Ariane 4 - is set for the early morning hours of February 12.

Flight 159 will mark Ariane's 22nd flight with an Intelsat satellite aboard. This mission's payload is the latest in the Intelsat IX family of advanced telecom satellites.

Previous Intelsat IX platforms lofted by Ariane 4s were Intelsat 901 in June 2001 (on Flight 141), Intelsat 902 in August 2001 (Flight 143), Intelsat 904 in February 2002 (Flight 148), Intelsat 905 in June 2002 (Flight 152) and Intelsat 906 in September 2002 (Flight 154).

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