spacetoday.net: Ariane launches two satellites

Posted: Sat, Aug 12, 2006, 10:47 AM ET (1447 GMT)
Ariane 5 launch of JCSAT-10/Syracuse 3B (Arianespace)

An Ariane 5 successfully launched French military and Japanese commercial communications satellites Friday night. The Ariane 5 ECA lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana at 6:15 pm EDT (2215 GMT) Friday and placed the two satellites, Syracuse 3B and JCSAT-10, into geosynchronous transfer orbit about a half-hour later. Syracuse 3B, built by Alcatel Alenia Space from the French military, is a 3,750-kg spacecraft that will provide communications services for French armed forces from 5 degrees west in GEO. JCSAT-10, built by Lockheed Martin for Japanese company JSAT Corporation, is a 4,050-kg A2100AX spacecraft; it will operate its payload of 30 Ku-band and 12 C-band transponders from 128 degrees east in GEO. The launch was the third Ariane 5 mission of the year and the 14th consecutive success flight for the vehicle. The next Ariane 5 launch, carrying two communications satellites and a Japanese secondary payload, is scheduled for next month.