VA211 upper composite transferred to Final Assembly Building 2

Ahead of its launch, Ariane 5 Flight VA211 is prepared at CSG, Europe's Spaceport, Kourou, French Guiana. Here the upper composite is transferred to the Final Assembly Building.

The heavy-lift Ariane 5 orbited the Mexsat Bicentenario telecommunications satellite for Mexico and the European Skynet 5D military relay platform on 19 December 2012.  The launch is designated Flight VA211, signifying the 211th liftoff of an Ariane family vehicle from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.