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Ariane 5
approaches the Final Assembly Building at Europe's Spaceport,
where its dual-satellite payload will be installed.
(Arianespace
photo) |
KOUROU, French Guiana, Nov. 22, 2006/Satnews
Daily/ ― Preparations for Arianespace's final Ariane 5 flight of
2006 have moved into their next phase following the launcher's transfer
from the integration building to the final assembly facility at Europe's
Spaceport in French Guiana.
Arianespace said tThe transfer occurred on November
21, with the Ariane 5 riding atop its massive mobile launch table. After
rolling out of the Launcher Integration Building (where the vehicle's
basic assembly was performed), the Ariane 5 moved along a 2.5-km.
semi-circular rail line to the Final Assembly Building, where its dual
satellite payload will be installed.
Liftoff of the Ariane 5 is set for the evening of December 8. As with
the other four successful flights in 2006, this year-ending heavy-lift
mission will carry two satellite passengers.
Installed in the upper position of Ariane 5's multiple payload dispenser
system will be the 4,735 kg. WildBlue-1 spacecraft. The pioneering
satellite will provide Internet access by using next-generation, two-way
wireless Ka-band spot beam technology for multiple re-use of the same
frequency.
WildBlue-1 will allow Colorado-based WildBlue Communications, to triple
its customer capacity in the United States, providing Internet access to
homes and small offices in areas where terrestrial broadband access
alternatives are either limited or unavailable. The spacecraft was
produced in Palo Alto, California by Space Systems/Loral and will be
positioned at an orbital slot of 109.2 deg. West.
Joining WildBlue-1 on the December 8 mission will be SES Americom’s
AMC-18 telecommunications satellite. AMC-18 is to ride in the lower
passenger position, and will have a mass at liftoff of approximately
2,080 kg. It was built in Sunnyvale, California by Lockheed Martin
Commercial Satellite Systems, and will operate from an orbital position
of 105 deg. West.
Equipped with 24 C-band transponders, AMC-18 will provide cable
television services to the 50 United States and the Caribbean. With a
design life of more than 15 years, it will expand SES Americom's fleet
of satellites that distribute cable, television and radio broadcasts,
telecommunications services, business television and broadband data
throughout the Americas and transoceanic regions.
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Ariane 5's Dual-payload Launch in December |
