Author Topic: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014  (Read 54646 times)

Offline Jester

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Toucan arriving with hardware for VA217
« Last Edit: 02/09/2014 06:41 pm by Jester »

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

According to SFN this launch is scheduled on January 24, 2014 with ABS 2 and Athena-Fidus.
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Offline Jester

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EPC for VA217 in the BIL
« Last Edit: 11/20/2013 11:49 am by Jester »

Offline Adonis1

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Offline bolun

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The ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus satellites for launch by Ariane 5 are welcomed in French Guiana

December 11, 2013 - Ariane Flight VA217

Both satellite passengers for an Ariane 5 flight planned in early 2014 have arrived at French Guiana, clearing the way for Arianespace’s start-up of payload preparations following their transfer by road to the Spaceport.

The two spacecraft – ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus – arrived separately at Félix Eboué Airport, located near the capital city of Cayenne, with each delivered this month using a chartered An-124 cargo jetliner.

Produced by Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, California, ABS-2 is based on the company’s 1300-series platform – designed to provide multiple services for global satellite operator ABS, including direct-to-home and cable television distribution, VSAT (very-small-aperture terminal) services, data networks and telecommunications across four continents. It has a designed mission life of 15 years or more, and will operate from ABS’ prime orbital location of 75 deg. East longitude after its deployment by Ariane 5.

The satellite has been outfitted with 89 active C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band transponders across 10 different beams. These include six dedicated Ku-Band beams for direct-to-home television services in the Eastern Hemisphere and C-Band beams for Africa and Southeast Asia connectivity requirements. Its Ka-Band beam is positioned over the Middle East and North African region to provide service for commercial and military applications.

Athena-Fidus is a French-Italian telecommunications satellite that uses state-of-the-art civil broadband Internet technologies. Funded jointly by French space agency CNES, French defense procurement agency DGA, Italian space agency ASI and the Italian Ministry of Defense, it will provide communications services to both armed forces and civil security agencies in France and Italy.

Program prime contractor Thales Alenia Space produced Athena-Fidus using its Spacebus 4000B2 platform, with the satellite equipped to deploy the latest civil telecom standards – DVB-RCS and DVB-S2 – to ensure optimum transmission capacity and service availability. It will weigh more than 3,000 kg. at launch, and has a design life exceeding 15 years.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2013/1113.asp

Offline jacqmans

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ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus begin their Spaceport preparations for Arianespace’s launch on Ariane 5

December 13, 2013 - Ariane Flight VA217

Processing has begun for the two payloads to be orbited by Arianespace on Ariane 5: the multi-mission ABS-2, with telecommunications coverage for 60 percent of the world’s population; and Athena-Fidus, which is to provide data transmission services for the French and Italian defense ministries, as well as these countries' security organizations.

Both spacecraft are advanced relay platforms, with ABS-2 to become one of the most powerful commercial satellites launched in the Eastern Hemisphere, and Athena-Fidus deploying the latest civil telecom standards – DVB-RCS and DVB-S2 – to ensure optimum transmission capacity and service availability.

The Ariane 5 mission with ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus is planned for early 2014 on Arianespace’s Flight VA217, to be conducted from the Spaceport in French Guiana.

ABS-2 is a C-, Ku- and Ka-band satellite designed to provide multiple services that include direct-to-home and cable television distribution, VSAT services, data networks, and telecommunications services across four continents.  Built by Space Systems/Loral (SSL), it will be positioned at 75 deg. East longitude – which is the prime geostationary orbital location for global satellite operator ABS.

Athena-Fidus is a geostationary satellite equipped with EHF and Ka-band transponders for the defense requirements of France and Italy, while also serving such operations as civil security, homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting in the countries.  It was built by program prime contractor Thales Alenia Space on behalf of the French and Italian space agencies (CNES and ASI), as well as the French DGA and Italian Segredifesa defense ministry organizations.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2013/1116.asp
« Last Edit: 12/14/2013 11:22 am by jacqmans »
Jacques :-)

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

Arianespace: first Ariane 5 launches in 2014

Kourou, December 19, 2013


Just a few hours after the successful launch of the European Space Agency Gaia satellite, Arianespace can confirm the dates of its first two Ariane 5 launches for 2014.

* 23 January 2014, an Ariane 5 ECA (VA217) will place into orbit two telecommunications satellites: ABS-2 for ABS and ATHENA-FIDUS for Telespazio, for the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI).

* 19 February 2014, the VA216 launch vehicle will place into orbit ASTRA 5B for SES and AMAZONAS 4A for Hispasat.

Stéphane Israël, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace said that he “would like to thank the clients of these two launches for their trust, and in particular the Luxembourg operator SES for accepting the February launch. The excellent collaboration between our teams has enabled us to plan these two missions for the early weeks of 2014. Once again Arianespace has shown commitment and flexibility in serving its clients."

http://www.arianespace.com/news-press-release/2013/12-19-2013.asp

So VA217 will now go ahead of VA216.
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Offline Jester

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« Last Edit: 12/24/2013 04:42 pm by Jester »

Offline Jester

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I see my big sticker survived :)
« Last Edit: 12/26/2013 12:44 pm by Jester »

Offline Jester

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From BIL to BAF
« Last Edit: 12/26/2013 12:49 pm by Jester »

Offline jacqmans

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Re: LIVE: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014
« Reply #10 on: 12/29/2013 08:17 am »
ABS-2 satellite
Jacques :-)

Offline Jester

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Re: LIVE: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014
« Reply #11 on: 01/06/2014 03:37 pm »
Postponed for a few days due to equipment change-out, new date soon.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-press-release/2014/1-6-2014-VA217-launch-postponed.asp
« Last Edit: 01/06/2014 03:38 pm by Jester »

Offline anik

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Re: LIVE: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014
« Reply #12 on: 01/07/2014 07:44 am »
Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes
Arianespace: upper stage engine nozzle for next Ariane 5 damaged when bumped during rocket integration at spaceport & will be replaced.

Offline bolun

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Re: LIVE: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014
« Reply #13 on: 01/07/2014 03:32 pm »
http://www.arianespace.com/news-press-release/2014/1-7-2014-press-conference.asp

Quote
Operations will kick off in February, using Ariane 5 ECA for two geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) missions: VA217, with ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus, then VA216, with Astra 5B and Amazonas 4A.

Offline jacqmans

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Re: LIVE: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014
« Reply #14 on: 01/14/2014 02:15 pm »
Arianespace Flight VA217; Ariane 5 ECA – ABS-2 & Athena-Fidus:

Launch scheduled for Thursday, February 6, 2014
 
Evry, January 14, 2014
 
With the component replacement on the Ariane 5 ECA launcher and the associated checks now being completed, Arianespace can set the date for its next launch, VA217, using an Ariane 5 ECA to orbit the ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus satellites.

Liftoff of the Ariane 5 ECA launcher is now slated for Thursday, February 6 at 5:30 pm local time in Kourou, French Guiana (3:30 pm, in Washington D.C., 20:30 UTC, 9:30 pm in Paris, and on Friday, February 7 at 5:30 am in Hong Kong).

The following launch, VA216, carrying the Astra 5B and Amazonas 4A satellites, is scheduled for March 7, 2014.
 
The first launch of the Soyuz rocket this year from the Guiana Space Center, VS07, carrying the Sentinel 1B satellite, is set for March 28.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-press-release/2014/1-14-2014-VA217-launch-date.asp
« Last Edit: 01/14/2014 02:15 pm by jacqmans »
Jacques :-)

Offline Garrett

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Re: LIVE: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014
« Reply #15 on: 01/14/2014 07:32 pm »
ABS-2 satellite
<image>
That is so frickin' cool :)
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Offline jacqmans

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Re: LIVE: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014
« Reply #16 on: 01/15/2014 03:08 am »
Dates set for Arianespace’s first three missions of 2014
 
January 14, 2014 – Ariane Flight VA217; Ariane Flight VA216 and Soyuz Flight VS07
 
Arianespace has announced the timeframe for its initial three missions this year – covering two Ariane 5 liftoffs and one Soyuz flight – that will kick off the company’s busy 2014 launch manifest.
 
Lofting five payloads in total, these missions will commence this year’s accelerated pace from the Spaceport, as Arianespace targets 12 missions from French Guiana in 2014 based on payload availability, which would surpass the company’s previous yearly-record of 10 launches during 2012. 

Designated Flight VA217 in the company’s numbering system, the Ariane 5 mission with the French-Italian Athena-Fidus satellite and ABS-2 spacecraft for global operator ABS will initiate this year’s launch activity, with liftoff now set for February 6 at 5:30 p.m. local time in French Guiana.
 
The heavy-lift Ariane 5 workhorse will also perform Arianespace’s second mission this year – scheduled for March 7 – which is to loft SES’ Astra 5B and HISPASAT’s Amazonas 4A spacecraft on Flight VA216. 

The seventh medium-weight Soyuz flight from the Spaceport – designated Flight VS07 – will round out Arianespace’s first three 2014 missions. It is slated for March 28, and will carry Sentinel 1A for the European Space Agency (ESA).

Arianespace’s complete launcher family will be active from the Spaceport in 2014, with six Ariane 5 liftoffs, four Soyuz flights and two lightweight Vega launches targeted for this year to meet the company’s objective of 12 total missions.
 
http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1124.asp
Jacques :-)

Offline npuentes

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Re: LIVE: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014
« Reply #17 on: 01/15/2014 12:18 pm »
I'm not sure this press release is correct. The record setting year was 2000, with 12 successful launches (8 Ariane 4s and 4 Ariane 5s). Although maybe not all of those were run under Arianespace?

Offline jacqmans

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Re: LIVE: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014
« Reply #18 on: 01/21/2014 04:00 pm »
The ABS global satellite operator’s ABS-2 relay platform is fueled for launch on Ariane 5
 
January 20, 2014 – Ariane Flight VA217

The ABS-2 spacecraft has been “topped off” at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana as preparations continue for its launch on Arianespace’s year-opening Ariane 5 mission, which is scheduled for a February 6 liftoff.

Loading of ABS-2’s onboard propellant was performed in the S5B hall of the Spaceport’s large S5 payload preparation facility.  This marked a key step ahead of the satellite’s upcoming integration in Ariane 5’s payload “stack,” where ABS-2 will be joined by its Athena-Fidus co-passenger – which also is being readied in French Guiana for launch.

ABS-2 is one of the most powerful commercial spacecraft for the Eastern Hemisphere, to deliver more than 12 kW of payload power and up to 89 active C-, Ku- and Ka-band transponders across 10 different beams.   It will be operated by ABS, one of the world’s fastest-growing premium global satellite operators that was established to meet the growing demands of broadcast and telecommunications operators in Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East.

The ABS-2 relay platform was built by Space Systems/Loral (SSL), and will provide multiple services that include direct-to-home and cable television distribution, VSAT, data networks and telecommunications, as well as the supply of substantial new capacity from the operator’s prime orbital location at 75 deg. East.

Arianespace’s year-opening mission with the ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus payloads is designated Flight VA217 in the company’s numbering system, signifying the 217th launch of an Ariane vehicle since the European-developed launcher family began operations on December 24, 1979.

Flight VA217’s Athena-Fidus co-passenger will provide data transmission services for the French and Italian defense ministries, as well as these countries' security organizations.  This satellite was produced by program prime contractor Thales Alenia Space on behalf of the French CNES and Italian ASI space agencies, as well as the French DGA and Italian Segredifesa defense ministry organizations.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1125.asp
Jacques :-)

Offline Jester

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Re: LIVE: Ariane 5 VA217: ABS2, Athena-Fidus, February 06, 2014
« Reply #19 on: 01/21/2014 08:17 pm »
fueling
« Last Edit: 01/21/2014 08:17 pm by Jester »

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