The year-opening Ariane 5 mission was delayed after an anomaly occurred in a launcher subsystem during final countdown operations.
A decision was made by Arianespace to replace this part, resulting in the postponement for several days.
Both the Ariane 5 and its mixed civilian and military telecommunications satellite payload of ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2 have been placed in stand-by mode and are maintained in fully safe conditions at the Spaceport.
ASTRA 3B is installed in the upper passenger position of Ariane 5's dual payload "stack", and will provide direct-to-home broadcast services and two-way broadband relay across Europe and the Middle East. Produced by EADS Astrium, it will be positioned at SES ASTRA's important 23.5 deg. East orbital position.
COMSATBw-2 is riding as the Ariane 5's lower passenger, and will deliver key services for the German Bundeswehr (German armed forces). Based on the Spacebus 3000B2 satellite bus, the platform was designed, integrated and tested by Thales Alenia Space on behalf of EADS Astrium – the program's space segment prime contractor.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
