The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
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Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
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Launch of Ariane 5 V194 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, carrying two telecommunications satellites, Astra 3B and COMSATBw 2, into geostationary transfer orbits.
Liftoff of flight V194, the 50th Ariane 5 mission, took place at 00:01 CEST (22:01 UTC; 19:01 French Guiana), May 21th 2010. The target injection orbit had a perigee altitude of 250 km, an apogee altitude at injection of 35 786 km and an inclination of 3º. The satellites were accurately injected into their transfer orbits about 28 and 33 minutes after liftoff, respectively.