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Last Ariane 44P Successfully Launches Eutelsat’s Atlantic Bird 2

More Information:

An Ariane 44P successfully launched Atlantic Bird 2 from Kourou, pad ELA 2, at 2321 UTC (4:21 p.m. PDT) on September 25. The Eutelsat spacecraft will be positioned at 8°W over the Atlantic Ocean. Provisional parameters at third stage injection were: 299.6 km for a target of 299.8 km (+/- 3 km.) perigee; 35,900 km for a target of 35,931 km (+/- 150 km.) apogee; 7.00 degrees for a target of 7.00 degrees (+/- 0.06 degrees) inclination. Atlantic Bird 2 will fire an onboard kick motor four times over the next week to circularize at geostationary orbit where it will begin commercial service during the last week of October. Atlantic Bird 2 will replace the services now offered on the Telecom 2A satellite. Atlantic Bird 2 was originally scheduled to launch on an Ariane 5, however, it was switched to the Ariane 4 after July's failure to keep the satellite's launch date on schedule.

Atlantic Bird 2 was built by Alcatel Space using a SpaceBus 3000 B2 bus. The 3055 kg (6732 lbm) satellite will relay communications between the Americas, Europe and Africa. It will provide radio and TV broadcasting services, Internet access and video streaming services using 26 Ku- band transponders. The satellite has a projected life of 15 years.

This was the fifteenth and last Ariane 44P rocket in the Arianespace fleet. The Ariane 44P variant was equipped with four solid-propellant strap-on boosters. Ten Ariane 4 rockets remain to be launched. Following Flight 144, Arianespace now has a backlog of 41 satellites and 9 ATV missions for the International Space Station.

Two more Eutelsat satellites currently are booked for future launches by Arianespace. The next Arianespace launch is scheduled for November 27. An Ariane 44LP will launch DirecTV-4S, built by Boeing Satellite Systems for DirecTV.

The plan to return Ariane 5 to service is moving ahead. The recommendations issued by the inquiry board are being carried out. Over 60 engine tests have been conducted in Germany as technicians work to improve and smooth the ignition sequence for the Aestus engine. Planned modifications are underway on the ground-based test stand used to validate flight conditions during static firings of the Ariane 5 upper stage engine. The resumption of Ariane 5 flights is expected in January 2002.

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September 25, 2001