Satellite Evolution
Aug 17, 20202 min
On Saturday, August 15 at 22:04 UTC, Ariane 5 Flight VA253 was successfully performed from the Guiana Space Center, orbiting two satellites produced by Northrop Grumman: Galaxy 30 for Intelsat, and MEV-2 for SpaceLogistics LLC, a 100% subsidiary of Northrop Grumman; along with BSAT-4b, built by Maxar Technologies for the Japanese operator B-SAT.
“Arianespace is delighted to have served two loyal customers – Intelsat and B-SAT – as well as Northrop Grumman's subsidiary, SpaceLogistics LLC,” declared Stéphane Israël, the Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace. “As part of this mission, three satellites were deployed by the most powerful Ariane 5 ever launched, thus demonstrating the competitiveness of our launch solutions and our capability for continuous innovation."
The Galaxy 30 UHD video distribution/broadcast and broadband satellite, built for global network operator Intelsat, will cover North America.
BSAT-4b will be used for Ultra-High-Definition (UHD, 4K and 8K) direct-to-home television broadcasting across Japan, in conjunction with its twin, BSAT-4a, launched by Arianespace in
2017.
The Arianespace relationship with satellite operators Intelsat and B-SAT has continued for several decades, and has grown stronger over time. Since 1983 – the date of the first mission for Intelsat – Arianespace has launched 61 satellites on behalf of this global operator. For BSAT, the Japanese operator has entrusted Arianespace with the launch of its entire fleet – a total of 10 satellites.
Flight VA253’s third passenger, the Mission Extension Vehicle-2 (MEV-2), is a satellite
servicing vehicle designed to dock with satellites in orbit. It will provide life extension services.
MEV-2's first customer will be the Intelsat 10-02 satellite, which has been in service in
geostationary orbit since 2004 and will have its operational life extended by five years.
The triple-payload launch performed with Flight VA253 to orbit two telecommunications
satellites and a servicing spacecraft is a first for Ariane 5.
Another important point: Flight VA253 utilized the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher, developed and
produced by ArianeGroup, which has increased its payload capacity by 85 kg. for this flight
with the introduction of a new vehicle equipment bay (VEB) – bringing total capacity for the
satellite payloads to 10,200 kg. on missions to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).
This Ariane 5 launcher is thereby the most powerful ever operated by Arianespace, marking
the culmination of the continuous improvement program for Ariane 5’s performance and
competitiveness that was implemented in 2016 by ArianeGroup for the benefit of Arianespace.
It has provided a performance gain 300 kg., which continues to be available for customers on
Ariane 5 missions planned until the end of the launcher’s operation.
The Ariane 5 launcher is a joint European government-industry program. Arianespace is
responsible for marketing and operating Ariane 5 launches from the Guiana Space Center in
Kourou, French Guiana, with support from teams of the French space agency (CNES) and the
European Space Agency (ESA) – which is responsible for the Ariane programs. All industrial
activities relating to Ariane 5 are managed by ArianeGroup. This includes the equipment and
structures, the manufacturing of engines, integration of the various stages, followed by
integration of the complete launcher in French Guiana before its delivery to Arianespace for
liftoff.