Author Topic: Ariane 5 VA241 -SES-14 (with NASA GOLD payload) & Al Yah-3 Jan. 25, 2018 UPDATES  (Read 240221 times)

Offline gongora

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Discussion thread for SES-14 satellite

Q1-2018 on Ariane 5

NOTE: after some time, this thread became updates only and discussion is now at
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=44833



Press Release: Airbus Defence and Space to build SES-14 satellite  [Feb. 16, 2015]
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Airbus Defence and Space, the world’s second largest space company, has been awarded a contract by SES, one of the world’s leading satellite operators, to design and develop SES- 14, a highly innovative telecommunications satellite.

SES-14 is the first high-power satellite in the 4-tonne class. It will be based on Airbus Defence and Space’s ultra-reliable Eurostar platform in its E3000e variant, which exclusively uses electric propulsion for orbit raising (EOR), taking advantage of the reduction in mass that this technology enables with an exceptionally large payload.

The satellite combining power and flexibility will have a double mission. The first will be a wide-beam payload of C and Ku-band, covering the Americas plus a link to Europe. The other payload, called High Throughput Satellite (HTS) with numerous user beams, will combine an on-board processor with multi-beam coverage of the Americas and the North Atlantic.

“SES once again demonstrates its responsiveness in a changing market, and we are pleased to be able to provide them with our very best technological innovation for both the payload and the platform,” said François Auque, Head of Space Systems. “On SES-14, as on SES- 12, the mass saving from electric propulsion enables us to combine two high-capacity missions, equivalent to two conventional satellites in one satellite”.

Martin Halliwell, Chief Technical Officer, SES, commented: “The procurement of SES-14, is a boost to our offer to customers in the Americas and further solidifies SES’s positioning in dynamic and demanding markets. The new spacecraft combines a large footprint with a powerful hybrid capacity offer and significant spacecraft technology innovations. It will help us to capture important growth potential, address the needs of video and enterprise customers and support the development of Next Generation Video and Next Generation Data services. Furthermore, it complements O3b’s high throughput satellite capacity in the medium earth orbit and helps us to deliver a truly unique and integrated offering”.

SES-14 will carry seven antennas. It will have a take-off weight of 4,200 kg and an electric power of 16 kW. The satellite is scheduled for launch in late 2017 and its electric propulsion system will enable it to reach geostationary orbit in four months, depending on the type of launcher used. Its nominal operational position will be 47.5/48 degrees West. It has been designed to remain in service in orbit for more than 15 years.

SES-14 is the 12th Eurostar satellite and the second all-electric satellite ordered by SES to Airbus Defence and Space. Nine of these satellites are in operational service and two are under construction.

SpaceNews: SES Books Falcon 9 Launches for Two Newly Ordered Satellites[Feb. 25, 2015]
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Satellite fleet operator SES on Feb. 25 said two of the three satellites it ordered the previous week will be launched aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets in 2017... SES-14 and SES-16/GovSat satellites would be launched on separate Falcon 9 vehicles.

SES-14, under construction by Airbus Defence and Space of Europe, is expected to weigh 4,200 kilograms at launch.
...
SpaceX rival Arianespace of Europe did not bid on either launch because both satellites are too heavy to fit into the lower position of the Ariane 5 rocket given the heavier upper-berth passengers that Evry, France-based Arianespace has booked for 2017.

An SES official confirmed that Arianespace did not bid for either of the two contracts. Satellites in the 4,000-kilogram class have limited launch options in today’s market. The Russian-built Proton rocket, marketed commercially by International Launch Services, typically launches satellites weighing 5,000 kilograms or more.

Via Satellite: Panasonic Contracts for SES Capacity to Expand Satellite IFC [02-26-2016]
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Panasonic Avionics has struck two major, multi-year, High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capacity agreements with SES to serve aeronautical and other markets across the Americas. Panasonic Avionics contracted for capacity on the SES 14 and SES 15 satellites, which are set to launch in September and October 2017, respectively.

SES Upcoming Launches
SES-14 at SES.com / SES 14 on Gunter's Space Page

Quote
SES switches SpaceX and Arianespace launches to mitigate cost of satellite failure
by Peter B. de Selding | Aug 28, 2017

PARIS — Satellite fleet operator SES, which this year has suffered both predictable satellite-launch delays and unpredictable satellite failures, on Aug. 28 said it would move a satellite from launch-service provider SpaceX to Arianespace to minimize revenue losses.
As a result, the SES-14 satellite will launch aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket early in Q1 of next year rather than a less-clear Q1 launch date offered by SpaceX. SpaceX instead will launch the heavier SES-12 satellite, up to now slated for an Ariane 5, on a Falcon 9 vehicle in Q1 2018.

[...]

https://www.spaceintelreport.com/ses-switches-spacex-arianespace-launches-mitigate-cost-satellite-failure/
« Last Edit: 02/25/2018 11:52 pm by Lar »

Offline gongora

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NASA GOLD (Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk)  payload is flying on SES-14.

GOLD Home Page

CU LASP: Quick Facts: Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD)

CU-Boulder to receive $36 million from NASA for space weather mission [Apr. 12, 2013]
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The University of Colorado Boulder will receive roughly $36 million from NASA to build and operate a space instrument for a mission led by the University of Central Florida that will study Earth’s upper atmosphere to learn more about the disruptive effects of space weather.

The mission, known as the Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk, or GOLD, involves imaging Earth’s upper atmosphere from a geostationary orbit some 22,000 miles above the planet. The mission is expected to have a direct impact on the understanding of space weather like geomagnetic storms that alter the temperature and composition of Earth’s atmosphere, which can disrupt communication and navigation satellites, affecting everything from automobile GPS and cell phone coverage to television programming.

The GOLD mission, which is being led by research scientist Richard Eastes of the University of Central Florida, will launch aboard a commercial communications satellite as a “hosted” payload.  Such payloads, which are secondary to the satellite’s main objective, represent the most cost-effective way to reach geostationary orbit, said CU-Boulder aerospace engineer Mark Lankton of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, the GOLD project manager.

“LASP is extremely pleased to be working on this mission with Richard Eastes at the University of Central Florida, who we have been collaborating with for seven years,” said Lankton. “This mission is one of the first to involve a science instrument being launched on a communication satellite, which is a terrific idea and exactly the right way to run a quality mission on a smaller budget.”

The LASP instrument, known as an imaging spectrograph, weighs roughly 60 pounds and is about 2 feet long and about 1 foot tall and 1 foot wide – roughly the size of a microwave oven.  It will launch aboard a commercial satellite built by SES Government Solutions in McLean, Va. The LASP instrument will be gathering data on Earth’s upper atmosphere in the far ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

“GOLD’s imaging represents a new paradigm for observing the boundary between Earth and space,” said Bill McClintock, the deputy principal investigator on the CU-Boulder spectrograph and a senior research scientist at LASP. “It will revolutionize our understanding of how the sun and the space environment affect our upper atmosphere.”

A geosynchronous orbit is an orbit that completes one revolution in the same amount of time it takes for the Earth to rotate once on its polar axis. “We will be able to view almost a complete hemisphere of the Earth, almost all the time, with this orbit,” said Lankton.

The mission scientists will be looking for the effects of space weather on the upper atmosphere -- the ionosphere and thermosphere located roughly 50 miles to 350 miles above Earth – caused by the sun and Earth’s lower atmosphere, said Lankton.  “The giant driver is the sun, including geomagnetic storms that can cause bright auroras and the disruption of satellite communications,” he said.

Lankton said the science team also will investigate the effects that atmospheric waves and tides from Earth’s lower atmosphere have on the thermosphere-ionosphere system. The mission will make use of other instruments gathering data on the sun, including LASP’s $42 million Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment flying on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Roughly 40 LASP researchers will be working on the GOLD mission when it is at full strength, including five to 10 students, split about evenly between undergraduates and graduates, said Lankton.  Other participants in the GOLD mission include the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, the University of California, Berkeley, Computational Physics Inc. of Springfield, Va., and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The GOLD mission is part of NASA’s new Heliospheric Explorer Program designed to provide space observations to study Earth’s ionosphere and thermosphere.  The mission is slated for launch in 2017. NASA Explorer missions of opportunity, such as GOLD, are capped at $55 million each.

Contact:
William McClintock, 303-492-8407
[email protected]
Mark Lankton, 303-492-7915
[email protected]
Jim Scott, CU-Boulder media relations, 303-492-3114
[email protected]

NASA mission one step closer to launching into space [Feb. 1, 2017]
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The Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission, led by University of Central Florida (UCF) scientist Richard Eastes, is scheduled to launch in late 2017 from Florida. Earlier this month [January 4], the LASP-built instrument was shipped to Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, France, for integration on the SES-14 communications satellite, on which it will be launched into space.


Offline gongora

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FCC Licensing

Quote
SAT-PPL-20160918-00093    SES DTH do Brasil Ltda

On February 9, 2017, the Satellite Division granted, with conditions, the request of SES DTH do Brasil Ltda to access the U.S. market to
provide fixed-satellite service, including direct-to-home services, using the proposed SES-14 space station to be licensed by Brazil at the
47.5° W.L. orbital location.

Offline gongora

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[2017-05-17 CU-LASP] GOLD installed on commercial communications satellite
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Marking a significant milestone in the lead up to launch, GOLD was integrated onto the SES-14 satellite in preparation for a series of environmental tests at Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, France. Airbus DS is building the SES-14 satellite for SES GS. GOLD is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in late 2017.
...
As a hosted payload, GOLD receives electrical power from the spacecraft, which also routes commands—originating at LASP—to the instrument and downlinks its images through a dedicated transponder.
Picture caption: The Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) instrument is hoisted up and installed onto the SES-14 commercial communications satellite, which is being assembled at Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, France. The LASP-built instrument is now slated to proceed through a series of environmental tests prior to launch in late 2017. (Courtesy Airbus DS)

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SES Investor Day 2017 presentation had list of upcoming satellites with approximate launch dates.  Looks like this has moved to Q1-2018.  Page 95 of attached document.

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SES filing to FCC on June 6:
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Launch of SES-14 is currently scheduled to occur in the first quarter of 2018

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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SES switches SpaceX and Arianespace launches to mitigate cost of satellite failure
by Peter B. de Selding | Aug 28, 2017

PARIS — Satellite fleet operator SES, which this year has suffered both predictable satellite-launch delays and unpredictable satellite failures, on Aug. 28 said it would move a satellite from launch-service provider SpaceX to Arianespace to minimize revenue losses.
As a result, the SES-14 satellite will launch aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket early in Q1 of next year rather than a less-clear Q1 launch date offered by SpaceX. SpaceX instead will launch the heavier SES-12 satellite, up to now slated for an Ariane 5, on a Falcon 9 vehicle in Q1 2018.

[...]

https://www.spaceintelreport.com/ses-switches-spacex-arianespace-launches-mitigate-cost-satellite-failure/

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Just for info, #VA241 will be L5101 with Al Yah 3 & SES-14

https://twitter.com/DutchSpace/status/913725899857649665

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Small update, #Ariane5 #VA241 planned for 24th of January 2018 with Al Yah 3 & SES-14

https://twitter.com/dutchspace/status/921406239598432266

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http://www.csgpreparationlancement.com/ariane/ariane-5-vol-212-arrivee-du-navire-mn-colibri/

Launcher's components have arrived at French Guiana. Launch is scheduled for January 18th.

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Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Al Yah 3 will be shipped to its French Guiana launch site this week, and launch is expected in early 2018. Learn more about the satellite: bit.ly/2Ab22Hh

https://twitter.com/orbitalatk/status/935272281147879425

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I wish we got sheets like this for every payload.

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Orbital ATK Delivers Al Yah 3 Commercial Communications Satellite to Launch Site
Company’s First Hybrid Electric Propulsion GEOStar-3 Satellite Scheduled for January Launch from Kourou, French Guiana

Dulles, Virginia 30 November 2017 – Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, today announced that the Al Yah 3 satellite has arrived at its launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, for its upcoming launch on an Arianespace rocket in January 2018. Al Yah 3, built for Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJSC (Yahsat), a leading global satellite operator, is the first hybrid electric propulsion GEOStar-3™ satellite to be completed by Orbital ATK. The satellite was built at the company’s satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, Virginia, and shipped to the launch site on November 28. Al Yah 3 will extend Yahsat’s commercial Ka-band coverage to an additional 600 million users across Africa and Brazil.

Al Yah 3 is an all Ka-band high-throughput and light-weight satellite that sets a new standard for affordability and payload flexibility in its class. The spacecraft will provide affordable broadband communications to 60% of Africa’s population and more than 95% of Brazil’s population.

“Today’s delivery highlights the teamwork and cooperation between Orbital ATK and Yahsat that brings us one step closer to advancing our customer’s goals,” said Amer Khouri, Vice President of the Commercial Satellite Business at Orbital ATK. “With the satellite now in Kourou, we look forward to working with both Yahsat and Arianespace to prepare for a successful launch in January.”

“Al Yah 3 is a significant milestone in realizing our vision at Yahsat. Extending our affordable broadband services to 60% of the people in Africa and more than 95% in Brazil to bridge the digital divide and enable a more connected world is core to our strategy. We look forward to the successful launch of Al Yah 3 and thereafter furthering our ambitions via future missions to support more growth for YahClick, and for our other business lines such as commercial in-flight connectivity,” said Marcus Vilaca, Chief Technology Officer at Yahsat.     

The GEOStar-3 platform is the newest, highest power and most advanced platform in the flight-proven GEOStar product line. The spacecraft bus features an increase in both battery capacity and solar array power, enabling the GEOStar-3 to provide up to 8 kilowatts of power to the payload. The hybrid electric propulsion system provides the benefits of higher power and greater payload capability while maintaining cost-effective launches and a faster path to orbit than all electric systems.

About Orbital ATK

Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies.  The company designs, builds and delivers space, defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both as a prime contractor and merchant supplier.  Its main products include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons, armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space components and services; and advanced aerospace structures. Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs approximately 13,000 people across the U.S. and in several international locations.  For more information, visit www.orbitalatk.com.

About Yahsat

Yahsat is a leading global satellite operator, providing multipurpose satellite solutions for broadband, broadcast, government and communications use across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Central and South West Asia. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company, the investment vehicle of the Government of Abu Dhabi, Yahsat is the first company in the Middle East and Africa to offer Ka-band services including YahClick, Yahsat Government Solutions, YahLink and Yahlive via its Al Yah 1 and Al Yah 2 satellites. With the launch of Al Yah 3, Yahsat’s commercial Ka-band coverage will be extended to an additional 20 markets, reaching 60% of Africa’s population and over 95% of Brazil’s population. For more information, visit www.yahsat.ae.

https://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/release.asp?prid=310
« Last Edit: 11/30/2017 03:22 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

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Activities are in motion for our first #Ariane5 launch of 2018: Al Yah 3, one of Flight #VA241’s two satellite passengers, arrived in French Guiana today via ✈️ @yahsatofficial @OrbitalATK

https://twitter.com/arianespaceceo/status/936259346262093847

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Orbital ATK ships tardy Al Yah 3 satellite for January launch

Quote
The hybrid satellite, equipped with a chemical propulsion system to reach orbit and electric thrusters for station-keeping once in place, slipped almost a year past its initial completion date, a delay Orbital ATK attributed to Al Yah 3 being the first of its kind.

Al Yah 3 is Orbital ATK’s first satellite built on GEOStar-3, the company’s new platform for satellites needing more power than what Orbital ATK spacecraft typically provide. As a high-throughput satellite, Al Yah 3 is also more complicated than a traditional telecommunications satellite. Al Yah 3 has 53 Ka-band spot beams for broadband and connectivity services split between Africa and Brazil.

Amer Khouri, Orbital ATK’s vice president of commercial satellite business, told SpaceNews Nov. 30 that Al Yah 3, weighing some 3,500 kilograms, is “the largest and most complicated [satellite] we have ever built.”

Quote
Al Yah 3 is 11 months late, Khouri said, mainly because of the need to qualify new technology such as the larger power system and the new propulsion subsystem.

Quote
The delays also forced launch provider Arianespace to juggle its schedule, pushing one of seven Ariane 5 missions planned for 2017 out to next year.
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Keeping up the mission cadence: first Ariane 5 for launch in 2018 begins its integration process

The first Ariane 5 for liftoff in 2018 has begun its build-up process, kicking off preparations for another busy year of Arianespace launch activity from its French Guiana operational base.

This heavy-lift vehicle will be used for Flight VA241, which will deliver the Al Yah 3 spacecraft for Yahsat (the Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJSC), based in the United Arab Emirates at Abu Dhabi, along with another relay satellite.

The Arianespace mission’s designation signifies Ariane’s 241st flight since the European-built series of launch vehicles began operation in 1979.

Integration of the Ariane 5 is following well-established procedures at the Spaceport, with its cryogenic core stage positioned over one of two operational launch tables. This is being followed by the mating of two solid propellant boosters in the Spaceport’s Ariane 5 Launcher Integration Building – clearing the way for an initial vehicle “top-off” with installation of its combined cryogenic upper stage and equipment bay atop the core stage.

Al Yah 3: a hybrid electric propulsion satellite

Ariane 5 will then be made ready for transfer to the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building, where it will receive the two satellite passengers.

Al Yah 3 was built by Orbital ATK at the U.S. company’s satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, Virginia. It was shipped to the launch site on November 28.

This relay platform will extend the commercial Ka-band coverage for Yahsat to an additional 600 million users across Africa and Brazil.

Al Yah 3 is the first hybrid electric propulsion GEOStar-3™ satellite to be completed by Orbital ATK. The spacecraft’s hybrid electric propulsion system is designed to provide higher power and greater payload capability, while maintaining cost-effective launches and a faster path to orbit than all-electric systems.

http://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/first-ariane-5-2018/

Photo caption:

Quote
The cryogenic core stage for Flight VA241’s Ariane 5 is shown suspended over its mobile launch table in the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building (photo at left). In the image at right, one of two solid propellant boosters is transferred for its mating to the Ariane 5 core stage.

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All-electric @SES_Satellites -14 sat built by @AirbusSpace leaves Toulouse for Europe's S. America spaceport; Jan 25 @Arianespace Ariane 5 launch to 47.5degW. 4,400kg, 16kW, C- & Ku-, wide-beam & HTS + NASA's GOLD atmospheric science payload.

https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/944154706737319937

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.@Airbus-built #HTS SES-14 has arrived in French Guiana for a January launch by an @Arianespace 5 vehicle! The #satellite hosts @NASA's GOLD atmospheric science payload & will serve thriving #video, #maritime and #aeronautical markets across the Americas. http://bit.ly/2l0GzYD

https://twitter.com/SES_Satellites/status/944219653894819841
« Last Edit: 12/22/2017 01:59 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

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