Arianespace's first Ariane 5 of 2001 moved closer to launch today when it was transferred from the integration building to the final assembly facility at Europe's Spaceport.
Rolling on its mobile launch pad, the heavy-lift vehicle rolled out under partially cloudy French Guiana skies, covering the short distance within the ELA-3 complex.
The Ariane 5 is basically complete, having been assembled during the past several weeks in the integration building. There, the launcher's central cryogenic stage, two solid boosters, equipment bay and upper stage were brought together and mated.
In its new location inside the final assembly building, the Ariane 5 will receive its dual satellite payload: EUROBIRD for Europe's Eutelsat telecommunications organization and BSAT-2a for Japan's Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT).
Launch of the Ariane 5 is set in early March.
BSAT-2a was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation of the U.S. as the first of a pair of direct-to-home digital television broadcasting satellites to be deployed for B-SAT.
Eutelsat's EUROBIRD will provide continuity for telecommunications services currently supplied by the EUTELSAT II-F4, including business services, satellite news gathering and television/radio program distribution. EUROBIRD was built by an international consortium led by Alcatel Space Industries of France as the prime contractor.
