Astra 5B, Amazonas 4A – Ariane 5 ECA (VA216) – Куру ELA-3 – 22.03.2014 - 22:04 UTC

[Space Alien]

Перенос на 24 часа

Launch of Flight VA216 postponed by 24 hours


Meteorological conditions at the Spaceport in French Guiana on March 20, 2014 did not allow the authorization of Flight VA216's launcher transfer from the Final Assembly Building to the launch zone.

The countdown of Flight VA216 has been delayed 24 hours, for a liftoff on Saturday, March 22 at 19h04 local time (22h04 UTC) during a launch window of 58 minutes.

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1142.asp

The go-ahead is given for Arianespace's Ariane 5 mission with ASTRA 5B and Amazonas 4A
 
March 19, 2014 – Ariane Flight VA216
Arianespace's second Ariane 5 flight of 2014 has been approved for its March 21 liftoff following today's successful launch readiness review, which was performed at the Spaceport in French Guiana.

With today's "green light," Ariane 5 is now cleared for its March 20 rollout fr om the Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch zone – wh ere it will be readied for liftoff on Friday during a launch window opening at 7:05 p.m. local time in French Guiana.
The payload lift performance for Arianespace's latest Ariane 5 mission is more than 9,575 kg., which includes some 8,755 kg. for its two satellite passengers – ASTRA 5B and Amazonas 4A – along with the launcher's dual-payload dispenser system and satellite integration hardware.
Riding in the Ariane 5 payload "stack's" upper position is ASTRA 5B, which was built by Airbus Defence and Space for SES, and will operate from a 31.5 deg. East orbital slot. Based on the Eurostar E3000 platform, this spacecraft will be deployed first during the 34-minute flight sequence and is outfitted with 40 Ku-band and 6 Ka-band transponders.
 Amazonas 4A is installed in the payload stack's lower position, and its deployment by Ariane 5 will mark the mission's completion. The Orbital Sciences Corporation-produced satellite, which is equipped with 24 Ku-band transponders, will be operated by HISPASAT from an orbital position of 61 deg. West.

The review is held prior to each Ariane 5 mission, ensuring that the heavy-lift vehicle and its payload are flight-ready, along with the Spaceport's infrastructure and the network of downrange tracking stations.

[Salo]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1144.asp

A 24-hour delay for Arianespace's dual-payload Ariane 5 mission

March 20, 2014 – Ariane Flight VA216

High winds at ground level prevented today's transfer of the Ariane 5 launcher for Arianespace's Flight VA216 mission with ASTRA 5B and Amazonas 4A, resulting in a 24-hour postponement of this mission from the Spaceport in French Guiana.

The Ariane 5 and its two telecommunications satellite payloads remain in a safe condition inside the Final Assembly Building. Its rollout from the facility to the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch zone is now scheduled for tomorrow, enabling the countdown to begin for a liftoff on Saturday, March 22 at 7:04 p.m. local time during a launch window of 58 minutes.

ASTRA 5B is located in the Ariane 5 payload "stack's" upper position and will be deployed first during the 34-minute flight sequence. It was built by Airbus Defence and Space for SES, and will operate from a 31.5 deg. East orbital slot.

Installed in the payload stack's lower position, Amazonas 4A is an Orbital Sciences Corporation-produced satellite. It will be operated by HISPASAT from an orbital position of 61 deg. West.

Launch window for VA216
UTC: From 10:04 p.m. to 11:02 p.m. on March 22, 2014

[ВВК]

Salo пишет:
 http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1144.asp

A 24-hour delay for Arianespace's dual-payload Ariane 5 mission

.......
Launch window for VA216
UTC: From 10:04 p.m. to 11:02 p.m. on March 22, 2014

Вроде как в 13.04 мск получается? или нет?

[LLC]

ВВК пишет:

Salo пишет:
  http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1144.asp 

A 24-hour delay for Arianespace's dual-payload Ariane 5 mission

.......
Launch window for VA216
UTC: From 10:04 p.m. to 11:02 p.m. on March 22, 2014

Вроде как в 13.04 мск получается? или нет?

МСК-UTC=4HR. 10:04p.m+4 hr = 02:04 ам. (окно с двух до трёх ночи по московскому времени).

[Григорий Ткачев]

Через 2 часа 14 мин.http://www.videocorner.tv/videocorner2/live_flv/index.php?langue=en

[ivanfromnrb]

Григорий Ткачев пишет:
Через 2 часа 14 мин. http://www.videocorner.tv/videocorner2/live_flv/index.php?langue=en

И здесь:  http://www.cnes.fr/web/CNES-fr/10064-decollage-d-ariane-en-live-streaming.php

[G.K.]

Оба отделились.

[LLC]

Репортажа от "российский специалистов", находящихся во Французской Гвиане не было.

[Lanista]

[che wi]

Arianespace's Ariane 5 orbits satellites at the service of SES and HISPASAT
http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2014/1147.asp

March 22, 2014 – Ariane Flight VA216

The workhorse Ariane 5 orbited a pair of payloads – ASTRA 5B for SES and HISPASAT'S Amazonas 4A – this evening, continuing the relationships with two customers that have come to rely on Arianespace's launch services.

Lifting off from the Spaceport in French Guiana, Flight VA216 provided a total payload lift performance of some 9,580 kg. on the delivery mission to geostationary transfer orbit.  It was one of multiple launch campaigns currently underway for Arianespace missions, covering its full launcher family – composed of the heavy-lift Ariane 5, medium-lift Soyuz and light-lift Vega.

ASTRA 5B was deployed by Ariane 5 at 27 minutes into the mission, with Amazonas 4A separated from the launcher at 34 minutes after liftoff.

This was Ariane 5's second flight in 2014, and the 73rd overall launch of the vehicle – continuing its on-target track record with the 59th consecutive success.  The mission was designated Flight VA216 in Arianespace's launcher family numbering system.

Ariane 5 also continued its high delivery accuracy, providing an on-target delivery with the following estimated orbital parameters at the injection of its cryogenic upper stage:
- Perigee: 249.7 km. for a target of 249.7 km.
- Apogee: 35,895 km. for a target of 35,888 km.
- Inclination: 2.99 deg. for a target of 3.00 deg.

Chairman and CEO Stéphane Israël noted that ASTRA 5B was the SES group's 39th satellite to use Arianespace launchers in the framework of a 25-year-long cooperation that started in December 1988 with the launch of ASTRA 1A.  SES operates the leading direct-to-home (DTH) satellite broadcast system in Europe based on its ASTRA family of satellites, serving more than 135 million households via cable and DTH networks.

Спойлер

ASTRA 5B was produced by Airbus Defence and Space using a Eurostar 3000 L platform, and had a mass at liftoff of more than 5,700 kg.  It is fitted with 40 active Ku-band and 6 Ka-band transponders, and will be positioned at 31.5 degrees East. Also aboard ASTRA 5B is an L-band payload for the European geostationary navigation overlay system, EGNOS.

Amazonas 4A was the eighth satellite launched by Arianespace for Spain, and the sixth for HISPASAT.  It is part of the Amazonas relay platform series that is expanding HISPASAT's business over South America.

"I am happy that, tonight, we have been up to the trust HISPASAT placed in our service, and I wish Amazonas 4A a safe journey to its final destination," Israël said in comments from the Spaceport's mission control center.  "I have no doubt it will be there on spot to broadcast worldwide the images of La Roja's victory in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil!"

As the 25th Orbital Sciences Corporation-built satellite launched by Arianespace, Amazonas 4A is based on a GEOStar-2.4 platform, and weighed in at about 3,000 kg. for liftoff.  This high-power satellite's 24 active Ku-band transponders will provide a broad range of telecommunications services across all of South America, and has a design life of 15 years.

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[che wi]

[satbeams]

2014-011A        
1 39616U 14011A   14082.77172784 -.00000390  00000-0  00000+0 0    50
2 39616   3.3440 333.5419 7271275 183.4436 331.1032  2.28802250    12
2014-011B        
1 39617U 14011B   14082.50317137 -.00000370  00000-0  00000+0 0    20
2 39617   3.0240 338.9637 7276894 177.9707 108.6246  2.28243039    18

[adonis1]

[adonis1]

[anik]

Упс... Надо было подольше на Земле его подержать... Дважды откладывали пуск из-за проблем с "Амазонасом"...

Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes

Hispasat's Amazonas 4A, built by Orbital & launched 3 wks ago, has power-system anomaly. Investigation ongoing on cause/consequences.

[anik]

Recently Launched Amazonas 4A Suffers Power-system Glitch
http://www.spacenews.com/article/satellite-telecom/40199recently-launched-amazonas-4a-suffers-power-system-glitch

PARIS — Hispasat's Amazonas 4A telecommunications satellite, launched March 22, has suffered an anomaly in its power system but is stable in orbit, Madrid-based Hispasat announced April 14.

Built by Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences Corp., Amazonas 4A is intended to expand Hispasat's presence in Latin America. Hispasat has declined to say where the satellite ultimately will be operated, but it is being tested at 51 degrees west longitude.

One industry official said the satellite has been unable to fully deploy one of its solar arrays. A Hispasat spokeswoman on April 14 said this is not the case, but that a power subsystem aboard the satellite has malfunctioned.

Hispasat and Orbital have begun an investigation into the cause of the defect and a possible solution is being devised but it is too soon to determine what happened and whether it can be corrected, the spokeswoman said.

Hispasat said it has full insurance coverage for the satellite, and that coverage would compensate for the satellite's loss, for a partial failure or for a delay in its entry into commercial service. The company said "a contingency plan is in place" to serve customers that are scheduled to use Amazonas 4A, without disclosing what it is.

[anik]

Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes

Orbital: Hispasat 4A anomaly could permanently affect sat's performance

[anik]

Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes

Orbital's Thompson: Hispasat 4A failure's nature & cause means no threat of similar problem on sats in orbit or in production.

[Александр Ч.]

СпейсфлайтНоу статьёй разродились:
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1404/17amazonas4a/

Power system failure detected on Amazonas 4A
 BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: April 17, 2014
 
 
Engineers are studying an unspecified power subsystem anomaly on the recently-launched Amazonas 4A communications satellite that will likely reduce the spacecraft's transponder capacity unless it can be fixed, officials said this week.
 

Спойлер

Built by Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. for Hispasat of Madrid, the spacecraft launched March 22 on top of an Ariane 5 rocket and positioned itself into geostationary orbit 22,300 miles over the equator to begin activations and tests. It was supposed to enter service late this spring.
But Hispasat announced Monday an anomaly was detected in the spacecraft's power subsystem.
"Hispasat and Orbital, the company responsible for the satellite's construction, are looking into the possible cause of this anomaly and taking corrective action," Hispasat said in a statement. "The satellite is currently secure in its geostationary orbit in the position where in orbit tests will be conducted."
Speaking to investment analysts in a previously-scheduled earnings call Thursday, Orbital chairman and chief executive David Thompson described the problem on Amazonas 4A as a "partial electrical system failure" that occurred about two weeks ago.
"If it cannot be fixed, this problem will likely reduce the transponder capacity of the satellite during its 15-year operational lifetime," Thompson said.
Amazonas 4A is based on Orbital's GEOStar 2 satellite platform and weighed nearly 6,500 pounds fully fueled at liftoff.
Hispasat said the economic impact of the problem to the company "would be negligible because the satellite's insurance policy covers all potential incidents."
The Spanish operator said there was a contingency plan in place to prevent any disruption in service.
Amazonas 4A is fitted with 24 Ku-band transponders to broadcast high-definition television over South America. Officials aimed to have the satellite in service by June to bolster communications infrastructure to broadcast the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Thompson did not disclose details of the satellite's problem, but he said engineers are part of the way through an investigation into the failure's root cause.
He said there is no indication the anomaly is a fleet-wide issue that could affect other satellites already in space or under construction.
"We're focused on two of the highly likely causes of the failure," Thompson said. "One of those, although I don't want to get into too much detail here, had to with something that was specific to the Amazonas 4A satellite that is not done on any prior or any current satellite in production."
The other potential failure mode, Thompson said, involves a well-known component with extensive heritage on flying satellites. Orbital already planned to phase out that part and replace it with a new design, and Amazonas 4A was the final Orbital-built satellite to use the previous component, according to Thompson.

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"For those reasons, we don't anticipate this problem being systematic in any way," Thompson said. "This isn't a latent problem that might arise from a satellite already in orbit, and given the other characteristics of the likely causes of the problem, it's not one we would expect to encounter on any satellites currently in design or production."

Спойлер

Garrett Pierce, Orbital's chief financial officer, told analysts the company's first quarter revenues were $13 million lower than expected due to the potential loss of performance incentives attributable to the Amazonas 4A anomaly, resulting in a $6.4 million reduction in operating income.
Pierce said the company expects to book insurance proceeds related to the anomaly in the second quarter financial results, which should offset the hit on the financial statements released Thursday.
Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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