With its fifth launch of 2019, and the second this year using an Ariane 5 vehicle, Arianespace will serve two world-class satellite operators by orbiting T-16 and EUTELSAT 7C. Both spacecraft will be deployed to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
In performing this 104th Ariane 5 mission – the 71st with an Ariane 5 ECA version – Arianespace confirms its full capability in the geostationary launch services market segment.
Flight VA248 will be performed from Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) in Kourou, French Guiana.
The Launch Readiness Review (LRR) will take place on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 in Kourou to authorize the start of operations for the final countdown.
T-16 is the 11th satellite to be orbited by Arianespace for AT&T, following SKY Mexico-1 and DIRECTV 15, launched together on an Ariane 5 in May 2015; and SKY Brasil-1, launched in February 2017.
T-16 was manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space and will provide high-power broadcast services in Ku- and Ka-bands. Being flexible, the spacecraft can be operated from five orbital slots (from 99° West to 119° West) and will cover the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. EUTELSAT 7-C will be Eutelsat’s 33rd satellite to be launched by Arianespace since the first mission at its service, which deployed EUTELSAT-1 F1 in 1983. [endif]