ARIANESPACE SCORE A DOUBLE CENTURY
Arianespace crossed a landmark recently when
it signed three new launch contracts taking the number of
satellite launches it has clocked to 202. Arianespace will
be launching satellites for ISRO, Panamsat and Space Systems/
Loral between the third quarter of 1999 and the third quarter
of 2000. The company also has backlog of 43 satellites to
be launched, worth a total of 3.1 billion Euros (or US$3.5
billion).
Arianespace will be sending ISRO's Insat 3A satellite, its
eight launch for the Indian space organisation, into orbit
by mid next year. The company is also launching Insat 3B towards
the end of this year for ISRO. The indigenously designed Insat
3A will offer a complete range of telecommunications and meteorological
services. It is equipped with 12 C-band transponders for fixed
telecommunications services and 6 Extended C band transponders,
plus a very high resolution radiometer and CCD (charge-coupled
device) camera for meteorological services. It will be positioned
at 83 degrees East over the Indian Ocean.
"This latest contract from ISRO reflects the continuing trust
placed in the European launcher by India's prestigious space
agency," says Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Marie Luton.
"It marks yet another step forward in the long-standing relationship
between India and Europe, and the very productive partnership
of ISRO and Arianespace. Other areas of collaboration are
now under development to support India's far-sighted space
policy."
The Panamsat contract is the seventeenth it has signed with
Arianespace under which the former has an option to use an
Ariane 4 or Ariane 5 to launch an additional satellite on
a mission scheduled from Europe's Spaceport next year. The
satellite will use an HS-601 HP platform built by Hughes Space
& Communications and will carry 48 Ku-band transponders. Arianespace
is to lift three more satellites for PanAmSat in the near
future: PAS 1R, Galaxy 11 and Galaxy 10R.
The Space Systems/Loral contract involves the conversion of
an earlier Globalstar constellation launch contract to the
geostationary transfer orbit mission for Telstar 7. Telstar
7 is to be launched in third quarter of 1999 by Arianespace
on behalf of Loral Skynet, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications.
The FS 1300 spacecraft will be equipped with 24 C-band and
24 Ku-band transponders, providing a full range of digital
cable distribution services. The spacecraft will operate from
an orbital position of 129 degrees West Longitude, providing
coverage over the continental U.S. and Canada, Puerto Rico,
the Caribbean and Latin America.
Says Space Systems/Loral president: "Our Telstar 7 satellite
is very important to the North American marketing strategy
of Loral Skynet. We are pleased that Arianespace once again
is able to accommodate our launch requirements. "
Meawhile, the satellite launcher successfully launched the
Telkom 1 telecommunications satellite on an Ariane 43P launcher
for P. T. Telekomunikasi of Indonesia on 12 August. The satellite
is located at 108 degrees east over the Java Sea and is equipped
with 24 C-band and 12 extended C-band transponders. It will
mainly serve the Indonesian archipelago, Singapore, Malaysia,
the Philippines and northern Australia.
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