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| Preparations for Ariane 5 ECA
Feb. 11 flight now in high gear |
KOUROU, French Guiana, Jan. 27/Satnews Daily/
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Preparations for the upcoming flight of Arianespace's heavy-lift
Ariane 5 ECA entered a new phase on Wednesday as the mission's primary
spacecraft - the XTAR-EUR telecommunications satellite - was fueled at
the Spaceport in French Guiana.
Arianespace said fueling was carried out in the S5B high-bay area of the
Spaceport's large S5 satellite preparation facility. Following
completion of final pre-launch checkout, XTAR-EUR will be transferred to
the launcher Final Assembly Building, where it will be installed on
Flight 164's Ariane 5.
XTAR-EUR will weigh approximately 3,600 kg. at launch and is fitted with
12 wideband and high-power X-band transponders. The satellite will be
operated by XTAR - a joint venture of Loral Space & Communications and
Hisdesat, S.A. - and its telecommunications relay services will be
offered to government users in the United States, Spain and other
friendly and allied nations.
Operating from an orbital slot at 29 deg. East Longitude, XTAR-EUR will
feature on-board switching and multiple steerable theater beams that
allow its X-band capacity to follow users as they move anywhere within
the satellite coverage footprint.
In addition to XTAR-EUR, Arianespace Flight 164 will carry an
experimental/test payload consisting of the Sloshsat mini satellite
(which is to be separated during the mission), and the Maqsat B2
telemetry/video imaging package (which will remain mated to Ariane 5
throughout the flight).
Liftoff of the heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA is scheduled for February 11.
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