spacetoday.net: Ariane launches two satellites

Posted: Sun, Nov 28, 2010, 10:14 AM ET (1514 GMT)
Ariane 5 ECA launch of Intelsat 17 and Hylas 1 (ESA)

An Ariane 5 rocket successfully launched a pair of satellites Friday for an established satellite operator and a European startup. The Ariane 5 ECA lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 1:39 pm EST (1839 GMT) Friday and released the Intelsat 17 and Hylas 1 satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbits about a half-hour later. Intelsat 17, a Space Systems/Loral 1300-series spacecraft, weighed 5,540 kilograms at launch. Equipped with C- and Ku-band transponders, Intelsat will use the spacecraft at 66 degrees east to provide communications services from Europe to Asia. Hylas 1, built by a joint venture of EADS Astrium and the Indian space agency ISRO, weighed 2,570 kilograms at launch. Avanti Communications, a new European satellite operator, will use the satellite's Ka- and Ku-band transponders to provide broadband services across Europe. The launch was the fifth Ariane 5 mission of 2010, and the 40th consecutive successful mission.