Ariane rocket with two telecom satellites lifts off

An Ariane-5 rocket blasts off from the European space centre at Kourou
An Ariane-5 rocket blasts off from the European space centre at Kourou, French Guiana. An Ariane 5 rocket carrying two telecommunication satellites launched from the Kourou space centre in French Guiana on Thursday, an Internet broadcast by European operator Arianespace showed.

An Ariane 5 rocket carrying two telecommunication satellites launched from the Kourou space centre in French Guiana on Thursday, an Internet broadcast by European operator Arianespace showed.

The fourth Ariane 5 launch this year, and the 208th overall, began at 5:54 pm (2054 GMT).

It will eventually place into orbit two geostationary telecommunication satellites -- Intelsat-20 for international Intelsat, and HYLAS 2 for European operator Avanti Communications.

Intelsat-20, which weighs more than six tonnes, will provide a large number of telecommunication, video, telephone and data transmission services in Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Asia. The powerful satellite will replace Intelsat-7 and Intelsat-10, and has an expected of 24 years.

HYLAS 2 is the second satellite of new European operator Avanti Communications. The 3.3-tonne satellite is to provide broadband services for eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East for more than 15 years.

(c) 2012 AFP

Citation: Ariane rocket with two telecom satellites lifts off (2012, August 3) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2012-08-ariane-rocket-telecom-satellites.html
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Ariane rocket launches two telecoms satellites

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