spacetoday.net: Arianespace, ILS announce launch contracts

Posted: Thu, Apr 10, 2003, 8:32 PM ET (0032 GMT)
Ariane 5 prior to flight 160 launch (Arianespace)

Arianespace and International Launch Services (ILS) each announced this week that it has signed contracts for communications satellite launches. Arianespace announced Wednesday that it has won a contract from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to launch the Insat 4A and Insat 4B satellites. The two satellites, each weighing 3,200 kg, will be launched in the next two years, according to ISRO. The contract was announced just after an Ariane 5 successfully launched Insat 3A Wednesday. On Thursday ILS announced a contract with Eutelsat to launch the Eutelsat W3A on a Proton M/Breeze M rocket. The launch of the Astrium-built satellite is scheduled for late 2003. Space News reported in its print edition this week that the spacecraft had been scheduled for launch on an Ariane 5, but was shifted in the wake of the Ariane 5 ECA launch failure last December.