Two telecommunications satellites were put into orbit after a heavy lift Ariane-5 rocket blasted off from French Guiana. It was launched from Europe’s space base in Kourou. This cost effective launcher is aimed at bigger satellites and can launch payloads up till ten metric tons. Astra 1L is aimed at offering direct to home broadcasting throughout Europe.
Martin Halliwell, Satellite mission director, SES Astra stated:
This satellite’s main job is to consolidate our fleet ... it’s an extremely important position for us, it allows us to transmit direct-to-home television to over 107 million homes.
The second one is Galaxy 17 which weighs 4.1 metric tons and can offer telecommunications throughout US. When it was first launched in December 2002 Ariane-5 flight had ended in a failure as there was a problem in the main engine and it exploded midway.
Via: reuters
