LIVE: Ariane Flight VA207 - MSG-3 & Jupiter/EchoStar XVII - July 5, 2012

[jacqmans]

MSG-3 satellite ready to continue weather-monitoring service

7 March 2012

International partners are looking ahead to the newest member in a series of weather satellites that deliver images to European forecasters: MSG-3 is set for launch this summer.
 
The Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites are designed to improve weather prediction.

The first in the series, MSG-1 – also known as Meteosat-8 – was launched in 2002. MSG-2 followed three years later. Both have been successful in continuing the legacy of the operational meteorological satellites that started with Meteosat-1 in 1977.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMYAS7YBZG_index_0.html

[bolun]

Arianespace's mission pace is supported by delivery of the third Ariane 5 for launch in 2012

March 21, 2012 – Ariane Flight VA207

Three Ariane 5s are now in French Guiana following arrival of the heavy-lift launcher for Arianespace’s June launch, which will carry a broadband communications satellite with North American coverage and a European weather observation platform.

Elements for the latest Ariane 5 were delivered this week by the MN Colibri, which is one of two sea-going roll-on/roll-off cargo ships used by Arianespace in transporting launchers to its South American base of operations.

Ariane 5’s flight in June will orbit EchoStar XVII, a high-throughput satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for Hughes Network Systems, along with the Meteosat Second Generation-3 (MSG-3) meteorological spacecraft, manufactured by Thales Alenia Space for the European Space Agency and Eumetsat (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).

Components carried aboard MN Colibri for the Ariane 5 mission included the launcher’s main cryogenic stage; its upper composite section – composed of the cryogenic upper stage and vehicle equipment bay; the SYLDA dual-satellite dispenser system, plus related integration hardware; and the payload fairing. 

The manufacturers of these launcher elements represent a cross-section of Ariane 5’s European industrial team, including Astrium in France, Germany and Madrid; as well as RUAG Space in Switzerland.

Arianespace’s flight in June with EchoStar XVII and MSG-3 will be designated VA207, signifying the 207th flight of an Ariane family launcher.  It will be the third Ariane 5 mission in 2012, following the liftoff of VA205 this Friday, March 23, with Europe’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle; and the VA206 flight, scheduled for mid-May with Japan’s JCSAT-13 broadcasting/communications satellite and the VINASAT-2 telecommunications relay spacecraft for Vietnam.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/892.asp

[satlaunch]

Another weather satellite payload is readied for launch by Arianespace
April 16, 2012 – Ariane Flight VA207

Europe’s latest second-generation meteorological spacecraft has arrived at the Spaceport, where it is being readied for Arianespace’s June 19 dual-payload Ariane 5 mission from French Guiana.

The Meteosat Second Generation-3 (MSG-3) satellite touched down at Cayenne’s Rochambeau/Félix Eboué International Airport on Friday, April 13, aboard a chartered Antonov An-124 cargo jetliner.  It was transferred by road to the Spaceport’s S5 payload preparation facility where this weather observation platform was removed from the shipping container on Saturday for a start-up of pre-launch checkout.

Arianespace’s mission with MSG-3 will mark the ninth Meteosat-series satellite launched by Ariane vehicles from French Guiana since 1981 for operation in geostationary orbit.  A total of six Meteosat First Generation meteorological platforms were orbited on flights performed in June 1981, June 1988, March 1989, March 1991, November 1993, and September 1997.  This was followed by the two second-generation spacecraft deployed in August 2002 and December 2005.

MSG-3 was manufactured by Thales Alenia Space for the European Space Agency (ESA) and EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and it will be lofted along with EchoStar XVII on Arianespace’s third Ariane 5 mission of 2012 – marking the 207th Ariane-series vehicle flight (which has been designated VA207 in the company’s launcher family numbering system).

VA207 will be Arianespace’s third Ariane 5 mission in 2012, following the liftoff of VA205 on March 23 with Europe’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle, and the VA206 flight that is scheduled for May 15 with Japan’s JCSAT-13 broadcasting/communications satellite and the VINASAT-2 telecommunications relay spacecraft for Vietnam. 

While MSG-3 is being readied for its Ariane 5 liftoff from the Spaceport in French Guiana, another European weather satellite – MetOp-B – is undergoing preparation for a Soyuz launch to be performed by Arianespace’s Starsem facilitate from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome on May 23.  MetOp-B is a polar-orbiting meteorological platform, and will join the MetOp-A spacecraft – launched by Starsem in October 2006 on another Soyuz mission from Baikonur Cosmodrome.

As with the Meteosat satellites, MetOp-A and MetOp-B were developed in a joint undertaking between ESA and EUMETSAT.  In this case, the cooperation covers the production and deployment of three such polar-orbiting satellites.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/900.asp

[bolun]

Assembly begins for the third Ariane 5 to be launched in 2012

April 23, 2012 – Ariane Flight VA207

The Ariane 5 for Arianespace’s third heavy-lift mission of 2012 is now taking shape at the Spaceport, using procedures that have become routine with this workhorse vehicle’s operations from French Guiana.
 
During activity inside the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building, the core cryogenic stage was removed from its protective shipping container and raised into position over one of two operational mobile launch tables available for Ariane 5. 

The pair of solid propellant boosters was then anchored to the launch table on each side of the core stage this weekend, readying them for mating to complete the vehicle’s initial assembly step. 

This Ariane 5 will be used on a flight scheduled for June 19 with Europe’s Meteosat Second Generation-3 (MSG-3) weather satellite for the European Space Agency and EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites); along with  the EchoStar XVII high-throughput telecommunications platform for Hughes Network Systems.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/902.asp

[bolun]

Ariane 5 is provided its “brains” and the “kick” for Arianespace's third mission of 2012

April 27, 2012 – Ariane Flight VA207

Initial build-up of the Ariane 5 for Arianespace’s third heavy-lift mission in 2012 has reached a new milestone with integration of the “upper composite” – composed of its ESC-A cryogenic upper stage and the vehicle equipment bay that functions as the launcher’s “brains.”

The activity was performed this week in the Spaceport’s Launcher Integration Building at French Guiana, where the upper composite was installed as a single unit atop Ariane 5’s core cryogenic stage. 

Power for the ESC-A is provided by an HM-7B engine, whose reliability has been proven during years of service on Ariane 5 and with the predecessor Ariane 4 launcher series.  Located above the upper stage is Ariane 5’s vehicle equipment bay, containing the launcher’s onboard computers, inertial guidance units, sequencing electronics, power supplies and telemetry equipment.
 
When the assembled Ariane 5 completes its current check-out phase, it will be ready for transfer to the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building, where it will be equipped with the mission’s dual-satellite payload: the Meteosat Second Generation-3 (MSG-3) weather satellite for EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites); and the EchoStar XVII high-throughput telecommunications platform for Hughes Network Systems.
 
Liftoff of this mission is scheduled for June 19.   It will follow Arianespace’s May 15 launch of another Ariane 5, which currently is in the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building awaiting integration of the mission’s JCSAT-13 and VINASAT-2 telecommunications satellites.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/904.asp

[bolun]

EchoStar XVII comes to French Guiana for a dual-payload Arianespace flight in June with Ariane 5

May 11, 2012 – Ariane Flight VA207

The initial passenger for Arianespace’s third Ariane 5 mission of 2012 is now in French Guiana for a heavy-lift launch scheduled for June 19 from the Spaceport.

A chartered An-124 cargo jetliner arrived this week at Cayenne’s Rochambeau/Félix Eboué International Airport with EchoStar XVII, which is a high-throughput telecommunications platform for Hughes Network Systems.

EchoStar XVII is based on Space Systems/Loral’s powerful SS/L 1300 satellite platform, and will deliver broadband services to consumers, businesses and government customers across North America. It employs a multi-spot beam, bent-pipe Ka-band architecture that provides significant additional capacity for Hughes.
 
The EchoStar XVII platform will be launched from the Spaceport in French Guiana along with the Meteosat Second Generation-3 (MSG-3) weather satellite for EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).
 
This upcoming dual payload mission will follow Arianespace’s launch of another Ariane 5, which will carry the JCSAT-13 and VINASAT-2 telecommunications satellites on May 15.

Arianespace began its 2012 Ariane 5 launch activity in March, when the workhorse vehicle performed its third resupply mission for the International Space Station by orbiting the Edoardo Amaldi Automated Transfer Vehicle.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/907.asp

[Lewis007]

Another photo, showing the Echostar satelllite loaded aboard the Antonov plane for its flight to Kourou.
(source: http://www.ssloral.com/html/pressreleases/pr20120514.html)

[jacqmans]

Europe’s MSG-3 weather satellite is prepared for the next Arianespace Ariane 5 mission
 
May 21, 2012 – Ariane Flight VA207

The Meteosat Second Generation-3 (MSG-3) spacecraft for Arianespace’s upcoming dual-passenger Ariane 5 mission is undergoing pre-launch processing at the Spaceport for a June 19 liftoff with the EchoStar XVII broadband services relay satellite.

Validations performed with MSG-3 in the Spaceport’s S5 payload preparation facility include checkout of the satellite’s solar panels, which are installed on eight curved panels around the exterior of this 3.2-meter diameter, spin-stabilized spacecraft.
 
MSG-3 will be the ninth Meteosat-series weather satellite launched by Ariane vehicles from French Guiana since 1981, and is the no. 3 spacecraft in the second-generation series – following the initial two orbited by Arianespace in August 2002 and December 2005.  They are the result of a joint undertaking of the European Space Agency and EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).
 
With a liftoff mass of approximately 2,000 kg., MSG-3 will operate in geostationary orbit after its deployment by Ariane 5, providing highly detailed imagery of Europe, the North Atlantic and Africa for use by meteorologists and national weather forecasters. 

The satellite’s primary instrument is the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infra-red Imager (SEVIRI), which builds images of the Earth's surface and atmosphere in 12 different wavelengths once every 15 minutes.  Four of the 12 SEVIRI channels look at sunlight reflected from the Earth's surface and clouds, while the remaining eight are designed to monitor thermal infrared wavelengths.
 
Also carried on MSG-3 is the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument for measurements of radiation originating on Earth from the Sun.  The payload is completed by a communications package for the rebroadcast of EUMETSAT data to end users' ground stations, as well as a search and rescue transponder for the international Cospas-Sarsat program.
 
MSG-3 was produced by an industry consortium led by Thales Alenia Space.
 
The launch of MSG-3 and its EchoStar XVII co-passenger will be on Arianespace’s third heavy-lift flight with Ariane 5 in 2012.  It follows the May 15 launch of two telecommunications satellites for Asia: JCSAT-13 and VINASAT-2; and the March 23 liftoff with Europe’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle for servicing of the International Space Station.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/912.asp

[bolun]

http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/120525-echostar17-launch-delay.html

The launch of the EchoStar 17 Ka-band broadband satellite, formerly called Jupiter, has been delayed for an undetermined amount of time to give manufacturer Space Systems/Loral time to make last-minute checks on the spacecraft, industry officials said.

EchoStar 17 had been set for a June 19 launch aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket. Europe’s MSG-3 geostationary-orbiting meteorological satellite will be a co-passenger on the same rocket.

Industry officials said that, as of May 25, there were indications that the issue could resolve itself in time for a late-June launch from Europe’s Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, on South America’s northeast coast.

[bolun]

Arianespace Launch VA207; Ariane 5 ECA – EchoStar XVII - MSG-3: Liftoff rescheduled for the night of Thursday 5 to Friday 6 July 2012
 
Evry, June 11, 2012
 
In order to allow one of its customers to perform complementary checks on its payload, Arianespace has rescheduled the launch of EchoStar XVII and MSG-3.
 
Liftoff of the Ariane 5 ECA launcher is now set for the night of Thursday 5 July, as early as possible in the following launch window:
 
- From 06:36 p.m. to 07:05 p.m. in Kourou, on Thursday 5 July,
- From 05:36 p.m. to 06:05 p.m. in Washington DC, on Thursday 5 July,
- From 09:36 p.m. to 10:05 p.m. UTC, on Thursday 5 July,
- From 11:36 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. in Paris and Darmstadt, on the night of Thursday 5 to Friday 6 July.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-press-release/2012/6-11-2012-VA207-launch-date.asp

[Chris Bergin]

Realigned the thread date:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMF5Y7X73H_index_0.html

[Lewis007]

A blog about the MSG-3 launch preps can be found here:
http://msg-3launchcampaign.blogspot.nl/

[Lewis007]

The fueling operation has started for the MSG-3 satellite.

See http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/916.asp

[Lewis007]

The MSG-3 sat, placed on its flight adaptor on June 22, was placed inside its CCU transport container on June 25, ready to be moved to the BAF for integration with the rocket.

source: http://msg-3launchcampaign.blogspot.nl/

[Lewis007]

MSG-3 was mated on top of the Ariane rocket on June 26.

Only screengrabs so far.
source: http://msg-3launchcampaign.blogspot.nl/

[bolun]

MSG-3 is integrated for Arianespace's upcoming dual-passenger Ariane 5 flight
 

June 27, 2012 – Ariane Flight VA207

The final payload integration phase has begun for Arianespace’s heavy-lift mission on July 5, with Europe’s MSG-3 meteorological satellite now installed on its workhorse Ariane 5 launcher at the Spaceport in French Guiana.

This spacecraft was positioned atop Ariane 5’s core cryogenic stage yesterday during activity inside the Spaceport’s launch vehicle Final Assembly Building – placing it as the lower passenger in the dual-payload “stack,” to be released second in the flight sequence after its co-passenger, EchoStar XVII.

MSG-3 will be operated by EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites). After its deployment by Ariane 5, the satellite is to provide highly detailed imagery of Europe, the North Atlantic and Africa for use by meteorologists and national weather forecasters. MSG-3 has a liftoff mass of approximately 2,000 kg., and will operate in geostationary orbit.

Produced by a Thales Alenia Space-led European consortium, MSG-3 will be the no. 3 spacecraft in Europe’s second-generation MSG series – following the two previously lofted by Arianespace: MSG-1 in August 2002 (which was re-designated Meteosat-8 when it became operational); and MSG-2 in December 2005 (renamed Meteosat-9 upon reaching operational service).
 
MSG-3’s “sister” payload on next week’s Ariane 5 flight – EchoStar XVII – is a high-throughput telecommunications platform to be operated by Hughes Network Systems. Employing a multi-spot beam, bent-pipe Ka-band architecture that provides significant additional capacity for Hughes, the satellite will deliver broadband services to consumers, businesses and government customers across North America.

The launch of MSG-3 and EchoStar XVII will be Arianespace’s third heavy-lift flight with Ariane 5 in 2012.  It follows the May 15 launch of two telecommunications satellites for Asia: JCSAT-13 and VINASAT-2; and the March 23 liftoff with Europe’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle for servicing of the International Space Station.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/917.asp

[bolun]

Payload integration is completed for Arianespace's next Ariane 5 flight

June 28, 2012 – Ariane Flight VA207

The EchoStar XVII telecommunications platform has joined its MSG-3 co-passenger on Arianespace’s third Ariane 5 for launch in 2012, marking a key preparation milestone for this July 5 heavy-lift mission from the Spaceport in French Guiana.

Encapsulated in its ogive-shaped payload fairing, EchoStar XVII was lowered into place yesterday over the MSG-3 meteorological satellite – which was installed atop Ariane 5’s cryogenic core stage earlier in the week. The latest integration activity was performed inside the Spaceport’s launch vehicle Final Assembly Building.
 
With this new milestone, the Ariane 5’s dual payload “stack” has now been completed, clearing the way for final steps that will include functional tests, launch rehearsal and launch vehicle arming – followed by a readiness review and rollout to the Spaceport’s launch zone for an evening liftoff on July 5.
 
Ariane 5 is to deliver a payload lift performance of more than 9,600 kg. during the upcoming mission, which includes a combined total of over 7,500 kg. for the EchoStar XVII and MSG-3 spacecraft, plus the launch vehicle’s dual-passenger dispenser system and satellite integration hardware.
 
EchoStar XVII – which is based on Space Systems/Loral’s powerful 1300 series satellite platform – will be operated by Hughes Network Systems, and it is to deliver broadband services to consumers, businesses and government customers across North America. Weighing approximately 6,100 kg. at liftoff, the spacecraft employs a multi-spot beam, bent-pipe Ka-band architecture that provides significant additional capacity for Hughes.

MSG-3 was produced by an industry consortium led by Thales Alenia Space, for operation by EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).  It has a liftoff mass of approximately 2,000 kg., and will operate in geostationary orbit after its deployment by Ariane 5 – providing highly detailed imagery of Europe, the North Atlantic and Africa for use by meteorologists and national weather forecasters.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/918.asp

[jacqmans]

29 June 2012

Dress Rehearsal

The Dress Reheasal is an overall rehearsal of the countdown as it will take place at L-0 (Launch day). It starts about 9 hours before the launch. The virtual launch today being planned at 14:00 Kourou time, therefore, the dress rehearsal started today at 5:00 am with the connection with ESOC (10:00 local time).

http://msg-3launchcampaign.blogspot.nl/

[Lewis007]

Attached is the Arianespace press kit

[jacqmans]

Launch campaign status at L-3

No "visible" activities to report today as efforts concentrated on the launcher in the BAF and on the final preparation of the fairing (thermal and environmental controls, several inspections, red tag items, arming, closure...). These activities are exclusively under Arianespace responsibility without witnessing from the customer(s) side.
In the next days:

L-2 (03/07/2012) will be mainly dedicated to the RAL (Revue d'Aptitude au Lancement/Launch Readiness Review). An important review mainly focussed on the Ariane 5 ECA launcher.
L-1 (04/07/2012): Roll out of the launcher between the BAF and the ELA-3 (launch pad). This will terminate the quasi "secret phase" of the POC (Combined Operation Plan). This activity was already witnessed in May for the roll out of VA206 flight.
L0 (05/07/2012). Launch day. The countdown will start at 9:36 am (Kourou time) for a launch window starting 9 hours later.

http://msg-3launchcampaign.blogspot.nl/2012/07/launch-campaign-status-at-l-3.html