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View Full Version : Arianespace's next Ariane 5 mission will orbit the heaviest commercial satellite ever launched to GTO


Jacques van Oene
July 5th 05, 09:55 PM
July 5, 2005

Arianespace's next Ariane 5 mission will orbit the heaviest commercial
satellite ever launched to GTO

The upcoming Arianespace launch of an Ariane 5 Generic vehicle will carry
Shin Satellite, Plc. THAICOM 4 (IPSTAR) - the largest commercial
telecommunications ever to be carried into geostationary transfer orbit
(GTO).

THAICOM 4 (IPSTAR) is based on Space Systems/Loral's LS 1300-SX satellite
bus, and has a liftoff mass of more than 6,000 kg. (14,000 lb.). The
spacecraft's hybrid KA/KU-band telecommunications payload will provide
broadband relay capacity for direct-to-desktop, last-mile multimedia data
and other services for Asia, India, New Zealand and Australia.

It will be the fourth spacecraft orbited for operation by Thailand's Shin
Satellite - which has used Ariane vehicles to launch all of its satellites
to date.

Liftoff of the Ariane 5 Generic with THAICOM 4 (IPSTAR) is planned for the
early morning hours of July 11 from the ELA-3 launch complex at the
Spaceport in French Guiana.


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Jacques :-)

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