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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On 26 June 2010, an Ariane 5 launcher lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on its mission to place the Arabsat-5A telecommunications satellite and the multi-mission COMS satellite into their planned transfer orbits.
Liftoff of V195, the 51st Ariane 5 flight, came at 23:41 CEST (21:41 GMT; 18:41 French Guiana). The target orbit had a perigee altitude of 250 km and an apogee altitude of 35 958 km, inclined at 2º to the equator. The satellites were accurately injected into their transfer orbits about 26 minutes and 32 minutes after liftoff, respectively.