Ariane Successfully Launches NSS 7

Flash! Archive
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002
December 2001
November 2001
October 2001
September 2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
December 2000
November 2000
October 2000
September 2000
August 2000
July 2000
June 2000
May 2000

Ariane Successfully Launches NSS 7

More Information:

An Ariane 44L successfully launched NSS 7 from Kourou, pad ELA 2, at 23:02 UTC on April 16. The spacecraft was placed into a geosynchronous transfer orbit with a perigee of 199.2 km (for a pre-launch target of 199.7 km), an apogee of 35,908 km (for a target of 35,955 km) and the planned inclination of 7.00 degrees.

NSS 7 will be positioned over the Atlantic Ocean at 21.5°W. The new satellite will replace the retiring NSS K, and enable NSS 803 to be repositioned to 177°W, replacing NSS 513, to provide trans-oceanic connectivity between Asia and the western U.S. Existing customers on NSS K and NSS 803 are expected to be transitioned to NSS 7 by August.

The 4702 kg (10,362 lbm) spacecraft was built for New Skies Satellites N.V., The Hague, The Netherlands, by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, Sunnyvale, California based on an A2100 AX bus. It will carry 36 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders. It has an expected design life of 12 years, with a beginning-of-life power of 12.100 kW.

New Skies Satellites NV was formed in 1998, as a wholly owned commercial subsidiary of Intelsat. NSS 7 represents the first launch of the Dutch company. New Skies currently operates five satellites in geosynchronous orbit, having ground facilities around the world. NSS 7 becoming the sixth operational satellite. New Skies Satellite also has two additional new spacecraft under construction, which are planned to serve the Americas and Asia from two new orbital locations. In addition, the company has secured rights to make use of four additional orbital positions.

Five Ariane 4 rockets remain before the launch vehicle will be retired.

SPACEandTECH Digest is a weekly roundup of the latest industry news of interest to the space professional. SPACEandTECH Flash! is an internet push service offered by Andrews Space & Technology to bring the latest on orders, launches, and important breaking news to your desktop. SPACEandTECH Digest and SPACEandTECH Flash! are part of the Andrews Space & Technology www.spaceandtech.com website, a website designed to serve the information needs of the space industry.

If you would like to subscribe to the SPACEandTECH Flash! (currently a free service), contact the www.spaceandtech.com Editor-in-Chief, Joe Hopkins, at editor@spaceandtech.com

April 16, 2002