Successful Ariane launch repays Eutelsat confidence
Early this morning an Ariane 4 launcher successfully placed into orbit another satellite for Eutelsat. This is the 106th Ariane-4 launch and the 15th satellite to be launched by Ariane for Eutelsat, one of the world’s leading satcom operators.
Flight 144's liftoff was initially delayed by a telemetry problem at the Spaceport, but this was successfully resolved within the 57-minute launch window. At 8:21 pm local time (01:21 CET) the Ariane 44P launcher, fitted with four solid-propellant strap-on boosters, lifted off from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana with Eutelsat’s Atlantic Bird 2 communications satellite on board. Once in geostationary orbit above the equator this satellite will provide a wide range of high-speed telecommunications services for North America, South America, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
The next Ariane 4 launch is scheduled for 27 November, while the next Ariane-5 launch, with ESA’s new Earth observation satellite Envisat onboard, should take place early next year.
