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Jacques van Oene
December 9th 05, 10:56 PM
December 8, 2005

Ariane 5 moves to the final assembly building


The Ariane 5 Generic launcher for Arianespace's final mission of 2005 is now
in the final assembly building at Europe's Spaceport, where it will be
fitted with its dual-satellite payload.

Transfer of the nearly-complete launcher occurred yesterday, when the Ariane
5 rolled out of the vehicle assembly building and was towed by a special
multi-purpose tug to the final assembly facility. Ariane 5 is installed atop
its massive mobile launch table, which rolls on a twin-rail track connecting
the Spaceport's major integration sites.

With Ariane 5 now in the final assembly building, the launcher is ready to
receive its Indian INSAT-4A telecommunications satellite and the European
MSG-2 meteorological spacecraft. The payloads will be installed using Ariane
5's Sylda multi-payload dispenser system, and will be protected by the large
ogive-shaped payload fairing.

Liftoff of the Ariane 5 is set for December 21 from the Spaceport's ELA-3
launch complex.


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Jacques :-)

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