Jacques van Oene
December 17th 04, 11:40 PM
Ariane 5 is in the ELA-3 launch zone, ready for its December 18 liftoff
The final countdown has begun for Flight 165 following todays transfer of
its Ariane 5 to the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch zone.
The Ariane 5 Generic vehicle - complete with its seven-satellite payload -
left the Final Assembly Building this morning at 10:00 a.m. (local time in
Kourou), and arrived in the launch zone one hour later.
Mounted on its massive mobile launch table, the Ariane 5 rolled along a
twin-track rail system that links together key installations at the
Spaceport. Once positioned over the massive flame trenches on ELA-3's launch
pad, the table was locked in place.
The weather for today's transfer was excellent, with the Ariane 5 emerging
from the Final Assembly Building under a bright sun.
Flight 165 will launch on a northern a trajectory, leading to the deployment
of its payloads in Sun-synchronous orbit. The liftoff is set for tomorrow at
a precise moment - 1:26 p.m. local Kourou time (16h26 GMT, 5:26 p.m. in
Paris, and 11:26 a.m. in Washington, D.C.). This single launch slot is
different than the traditional launch window of minutes or hours for a
mission to geostationary orbit.
The flight's primary payload is France's Helios IIA military reconnaissance
platform, which was developed and built in a program with Belgium and Spain.
The Helios IIA project is managed by France's defense procurement agency
(DGA), with the French CNES national space agency handling the lead
responsibility for the satellite and its launch. Spacecraft manufacturer is
EADS Astrium.
Helios IIA is accompanied by six small-sat auxiliary payloads: four Essaim
electronic intelligence (ELINT) system demonstrators for the DGA; the CNES
Parasol payload for studies of the Earth's climate; and the Nanosat
micro-satellite technology demonstrator for Spain.
EADS Astrium is the prime contractor for the Essaim program, while CNES is
prime contractor for the Parasol spacecraft. The Nanosat micro-satellite was
developed and built by INTA, the national aeronautical technology institute
of Spain. Flight 165's mission profile calls for Helios IIA to be separated
from Ariane 5 first, with its deployment occurring one hour after liftoff.
The six auxiliary payloads - which are mounted on a ring-shaped dispenser
plate called ASAP - then will be released in a rapid-sequence deployment,
beginning approximately six minutes after Helios IIA's separation. The
process starts with Nanosat, followed in 21 seconds by the simultaneous
release of Essaim spacecraft #1 and #4. One second later, Essaim #2 and #4
will be separated, with Parasol completing the sequence when it is released
from Ariane 5 some 83 seconds later.
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
The final countdown has begun for Flight 165 following todays transfer of
its Ariane 5 to the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch zone.
The Ariane 5 Generic vehicle - complete with its seven-satellite payload -
left the Final Assembly Building this morning at 10:00 a.m. (local time in
Kourou), and arrived in the launch zone one hour later.
Mounted on its massive mobile launch table, the Ariane 5 rolled along a
twin-track rail system that links together key installations at the
Spaceport. Once positioned over the massive flame trenches on ELA-3's launch
pad, the table was locked in place.
The weather for today's transfer was excellent, with the Ariane 5 emerging
from the Final Assembly Building under a bright sun.
Flight 165 will launch on a northern a trajectory, leading to the deployment
of its payloads in Sun-synchronous orbit. The liftoff is set for tomorrow at
a precise moment - 1:26 p.m. local Kourou time (16h26 GMT, 5:26 p.m. in
Paris, and 11:26 a.m. in Washington, D.C.). This single launch slot is
different than the traditional launch window of minutes or hours for a
mission to geostationary orbit.
The flight's primary payload is France's Helios IIA military reconnaissance
platform, which was developed and built in a program with Belgium and Spain.
The Helios IIA project is managed by France's defense procurement agency
(DGA), with the French CNES national space agency handling the lead
responsibility for the satellite and its launch. Spacecraft manufacturer is
EADS Astrium.
Helios IIA is accompanied by six small-sat auxiliary payloads: four Essaim
electronic intelligence (ELINT) system demonstrators for the DGA; the CNES
Parasol payload for studies of the Earth's climate; and the Nanosat
micro-satellite technology demonstrator for Spain.
EADS Astrium is the prime contractor for the Essaim program, while CNES is
prime contractor for the Parasol spacecraft. The Nanosat micro-satellite was
developed and built by INTA, the national aeronautical technology institute
of Spain. Flight 165's mission profile calls for Helios IIA to be separated
from Ariane 5 first, with its deployment occurring one hour after liftoff.
The six auxiliary payloads - which are mounted on a ring-shaped dispenser
plate called ASAP - then will be released in a rapid-sequence deployment,
beginning approximately six minutes after Helios IIA's separation. The
process starts with Nanosat, followed in 21 seconds by the simultaneous
release of Essaim spacecraft #1 and #4. One second later, Essaim #2 and #4
will be separated, with Parasol completing the sequence when it is released
from Ariane 5 some 83 seconds later.
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info