SES-15 - Soyuz-ST-A/Fregat-M (VS17) - Kourou ELS - 18.05.2017 11:56 UTC

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05/18/2017 19:51
Coming up on restart of the Fregat main engine. No problems were reported in this ballistic phase as the upper stage coasted to an altitude of nearly 20,000 miles.

05/18/2017 19:56
The Fregat upper stage has ended its second burn as planned, and the rocket is now maneuvering to the correct orientation to release the SES 15 spacecraft at 1713 GMT (1:13 p.m. EDT).

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Есть отделение КА
 

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Поздравляю!

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Мои искренние поздравления Самаре и Лавочке! Мо-лод-цы!

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05/18/2017 20:14  Spacecraft separation
SES 15 separation. Springs have deployed the Boeing-built communications satellite in orbit after an apparently successful flight into orbit this morning.

The 5,075-pound (2,302-kilogram) spacecraft is on the way to a service location in geostationary orbit over the Americas, providing in-flight connectivity and video broadcast capacity over the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

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РОСКОСМОС‏Подлинная учетная запись @roscosmos 4 мин. назад

Европейский телекоммуникационный космический аппарат SES-15 успешно отделился от российского разгонного блока «Фрегат-М»!

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Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 6 мин. назад

S/C Sep for SES-15! Still a seven month trip to go for the bird. ARTICLE: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/05/arianespace-soyuz-st-b-loft-ses-15/ ... - COVERAGE: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=42531.0 ...

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Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow 7 мин. назад

SES 15 separation confirmed! New communications satellite is in orbit, on the way to position over the Americas. https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/05/18/vs17-mission-status-center/ ...

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SES‏Подлинная учетная запись @SES_Satellites 5 мин. назад

And that's a successful launch for #SES15! Well done @Arianespace #Soyuz

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http://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/the-40th-ses-satellite-orbited-by-arianespace-is-lofted-on-its-latest-soyuz-mission-success/

Soyuz | May 18, 2017

The 40th SES satellite orbited by Arianespace is lofted on its latest Soyuz mission success


Lifting off under sunny skies, the Soyuz launcher for Arianespace Flight VS17 begins its mission to deploy SES-15 at the service of European-based SES.

With a picture-perfect liftoff fr om the Spaceport in French Guiana this morning, Arianespace's workhorse Soyuz launch vehicle successfully delivered SES-15 – a telecommunications satellite for operation by European-based SES – to a sub-geostationary transfer orbit.


Arianespace's medium-lift workhorse vehicle climbs away from French Guiana on its 17th Spaceport mission, carrying the Boeing-built SES-15 satellite for SES.

The flight, designated VS17 in Arianespace's launcher family numbering system, lasted 5 hrs., 18 min. fr om the precise liftoff at 08:54:53 a.m. (local time in French Guiana) to payload separation. It carried SES' first satellite lofted by the medium-lift Soyuz launcher and the 40th overall for the operator launched by Arianespace.

Departing from the Spaceport's ELS launch complex adjacent to the commune of Sinnamary, Flight VS17 delivered a total payload lift performance set at 2,447 kg; it was Arianespace's fifth mission of 2017 and the Russian-built Soyuz' 17th liftoff from French Guiana since this vehicle's 2011 introduction at the Spaceport.

The orbital parameters for SES-15's delivery by Soyuz were the following, based on telemetry measurements provided just before spacecraft separation:
– Apogee: 31,348.9 km. for a target of 31,299.6 km.
– Perigee: 2,207 km. for a target of 2,198.8 km.
– Inclination: 5.99 deg. for a target of 6.00 deg.

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Arianespace's long-term relationship with SES

Luce Fabreguettes, Arianespace's Executive Vice President Missions, Operations & Purchasing, underscored Arianespace's relationship with SES stretching back to 1984. She noted that more than 40 percent of the SES geostationary satellites currently in operation have been orbited by the launch services company – a number that does not include the O3b Networks satellites launched by Arianespace into medium Earth orbit.

Fabreguettes pointed out that Arianespace has five more SES satellites in the company's launch services backlog – including another electric satellite, SES-12 –– along with four additional O3b spacecraft.

Delivered into a sub-geostationary transfer orbit by Soyuz, the telecom satellite will achieve the final position under the power of its all-electrical propulsion system –SES's first satellite to use such technology.

Martin Halliwell, the Chief Technical Officer at SES, described today's mission as a "fantastic launch," and confirmed that initial telemetry was received from SES-15 shortly after its separation from Soyuz.

"After this 40th satellite with Arianespace, we're going to be back for more," he said in comments from the Spaceport. "We're looking forward to a lot more satellites to launch with Arianespace."

 

The first hybrid satellite for SES

Once located at 129 deg. West, SES-15 will serve as SES' first hybrid satellite, offering extensive coverage over North America, Mexico and Central America, stretching from Arctic Alaska to the South of Panama and from Hawaii to the Caribbean.


Arianespace Flight VS17 marked the first time a Soyuz was utilized to orbit an SES satellite, as well as a spacecraft built by Boeing. The Russian-built medium-lift workhorse vehicle is shown on the Spaceport's ELS launch pad during final countdown.

It is to provide Ku‐band wide beam and Ku‐band High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capability, with connectivity to gateways in Ka‐ and L-bands. Its relay payload covers the thriving aeronautical sector and will enable other traffic‐intensive data applications such as government, VSAT networks and maritime.

SES-15 also carries a Wide Area Augmentation System‐hosted (WAAS) payload, enabling the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to augment the Global Positioning System (GPS), providing improving accuracy, integrity and availability for the aviation industry.

Built by Boeing at its El Segundo, California facility, SES‐15 is based on the company's all‐electric 702SP platform and is the 53rd Boeing‐built satellite to be launched by Arianespace.

Speaking at the Spaceport, Mark Spiwak, the President of Boeing Satellite Systems International, described his company's relationship with Arianespace as a "very deep, rich and valued" history. "Today was our first launch with Soyuz, and we are looking forward to developing an equally long relationship with Soyuz as we go forward," he added.

 

Preparing for the upcoming Ariane 5 flights

Elsewh ere at the Spaceport, preparations are being made for Arianespace's next two heavy-lift missions: Flights VA237 and VA238, the 237th and 238th flight of an Ariane launcher since the family of European-built vehicles began Spaceport operations in 1979.

Flight VA237's Ariane 5 launcher has moved from the Launcher Integration Building to the Final Assembly Building, wh ere a dual payload of the Viasat-2 and Eutelsat E172B telecommunications satellites will be integrated. Liftoff of VA237 is set for June 1.

The subsequent Ariane 5 launch, Flight VA238, also will deliver two satellites: the Hellas-Sat 3/Inmarsat S relay satellite; and the GSAT-17 telecommunications spacecraft for the Indian Space Research Organisation.

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• Read the press release.
• Larger versions of the photos above are available to download in the Gallery.
  

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Anatoly Zak‏ @RussianSpaceWeb 5 мин. назад

MISSION SUCCESS: Flight controllers confirm contact with #SES15 satellite after its delivery into orbit on #Soyuz: http://www.russianspaceweb.com/ses-15.html

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Stéphane Israël‏ @arianespaceceo 3 мин. назад

#Soyuz is 2-for-2 in 2017! This could not have been possible without @roscosmos

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Stéphane Israël‏ @arianespaceceo 2 мин. назад

.@SES_Satellites CTO, Martin Halliwell, is present in the Spaceport to celebrate this tremendous victory and to share a few words on #VS17

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Anatoly Zak‏ @RussianSpaceWeb 3 мин. назад

#SES15 is promised to enter service by the end of December after a flawless launch on #Soyuz rocket today...

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05/18/2017 20:39
Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer of SES, confirms the SES 15 satellite is healthy in orbit and in contact with ground controllers following today's launch.

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http://www.arianespace.com/press-release/flight-vs17-with-soyuz-arianespace-successfully-launches-ses-15-the-first-all-electric-satellite-for-ses/

Soyuz | May 18, 2017

Flight VS17: With Soyuz, Arianespace successfully launches SES-15 – the first all-electric satellite for SES



Arianespace has orbited the SES-15 telecommunications satellite for European operator SES. Liftoff took place on Thursday, May 18 at 8:54 a.m. (local time in Kourou) from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

Today's launch was the fifth of the year for Arianespace, and the second by Soyuz from CSG to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), as well as the first Arianespace launch carrying a satellite with all-electric propulsion.

Through this latest mission, Arianespace once again demonstrates its launcher family's availability and versatility for the benefit of all customers.

 

A launch for the European operator SES

SES-15 is the 40th satellite launched by Arianespace for SES since 1984. One of the world's leading satellite operators, SES is also the first company to offer a scalable and differentiated slate of services from geostationary and medium Earth orbit (GEO/MEO). It currently deploys an operational fleet with more than 50 GEO satellites and 12 MEO satellites – the latter having all been orbited by Arianespace.



SES-15, the first all-electric satellite in the SES fleet, will offer wide beam coverage and the capacity of a high-throughput satellite (HTS). It will provide additional Ku-band wide beams, HTS capacity in Ku-band, along with Ka-band connectivity with gateways.

The satellite will offer services to the booming aeronautical sector, and will also support other traffic-intensive data applications, including governmental services, VSAT networks and maritime communications. SES-15 also carries a wide area augmentation system (WAAS) payload, which will enable the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to improve the performance of global positioning systems (GPS), by enhancing precision, integrity and availability for the aviation sector.

The satellite is equipped with an all-electric propulsion system, which will handle orbital maneuvers and orbit raising.

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Arianespace has five more SES satellites in its order book: the all-electric SES-12 satellite and four more satellites for the O3b Networks constellation.

 

The first all-electric satellite launched by Arianespace and the second Soyuz mission from CSG into geostationary transfer orbit

All-electric satellites now account for 15% of Arianespace's order book

Flight VS17 is the first by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center to orbit an all-electric satellite. Electric propulsion for satellites is one of the most promising technologies in space and could represent 50% of the world market in the 2020s.

This type of propulsion system uses electrical energy generated by the satellite's solar panels, and enables the satellite's weight to be reduced by half for a given level of performance, compared with a satellite using conventional chemical propulsion. These satellites are fitted with small electric thrusters that will propel them after separation from the launcher to their final geostationary orbital position.

With 15% of its launch order book for all-electric satellites, Arianespace accompanies the technological evolution of the satellite industry by putting its Ariane 5 and Soyuz launchers at the service of this new range of satellites.

 

Soyuz: a versatile launcher for Arianespace's customers

When the mass of the satellites allows, Soyuz can carry out missions to geostationary transfer orbit as a complement to Ariane 5. Flight VS17 is the second launch to this orbit by Soyuz in 2017, following the VS16 launch for Hispasat in January 2017.

Today's 17th Soyuz launch from CSG was different from previous missions in terms of its duration (5h18m28s) and the targeted elliptical orbit (2,200 km. perigee and 31,300 km. altitude during first apogee).

Using the Fregat upper stage, this launch placed SES-15 into a specific geostationary transfer orbit designed to significantly reduce the time needed for the satellite to move itself into its definitive position using electric propulsion. The reduction in deployment time therefore is approximately one month from the estimate of seven to eight months.

With this successful launch, the Soyuz rocket – already the benchmark for telecom and navigation constellations (Globalstar, 03b, Galileo, OneWeb) –  clearly shows its versatility and ability to perfectly address the market for electric satellites. It also confirms the availability and versatility of Arianespace's family of launchers, at the service of all customers.  
 
Shortly after the announcement of the orbital injection of the satellite, Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace, said: "With this fifth launch of the year, and the second by Soyuz into geostationary transfer orbit, Arianespace is proud to support our long-standing customer, SES. We are honored by the renewed confidence of SES, which today entrusted us with its first all-electric satellite, and for which we have placed 40 GEO satellites in orbit since 1984 – not counting all satellites in the O3b Networks constellation currently in orbit. I would also like to congratulate Boeing, another loyal partner to Arianespace, which built SES-15. "I would like to thank the Russian space agency Roscosmos for its commitment to our partnership on the Soyuz launcher. In addition, I would like to thank CNES/CSG, our ground segment companies and all staff at the space center, who continue to work alongside us as we go from success to success. Lastly, bravo to everybody at Arianespace for this 17th Soyuz launch from CSG."

SES-15 was built by Boeing using the all-electric 702SP platform. The payload includes wide beams in Ku-band, high-throughput capacity in Ku-band, and gateway connectivity in Ka and L-bands. SES-15 will provide aeronautical and maritime communications services, along with services for VSAT networks and governments. Positioned at 129° West, the satellite will cover all of North America, Mexico, and Central America – from Alaska to southern Panama, and from Hawaii to the Caribbean. It weighed 2,302 kg at launch and offers a design life exceeding 15 years.

Arianespace and Boeing  SES-15 is the 53rd Boeing satellite to be launched by Arianespace, and the first satellite using the company's 702SP platform to be orbited by one of the company's launchers. The European launch services operator has four more Boeing satellites in its order book.

About Arianespace

To use space for a better life on earth, Arianespace guarantees access to space transportation services and solutions for any type of satellite, commercial as well as institutional, into any orbit. Since 1980, Arianespace has placed more than 540 satellites into orbit with its family of three launchers: Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, from launch sites in French Guiana (South America) and Baikonur, Kazakhstan (central Asia). Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, France, near Paris, and has a facility at the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore. Arianespace is a subsidiary of Airbus Safran Launchers, which holds 74% of its capital; the balance is owned by 17 other shareholders from the European launcher industry.

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https://www.ses.com/newsroom/successful-launch-ses-15

Successful Launch of SES-15

Written on 15 May 2017
 
Overview

On 18 May 2017, SES-15 was successfully launched - its first hybrid satellite offering a mix of widebeam coverage and high throughput (HTS) capacity. Positioned at the new orbital location of 129 degrees West, SES-15 will offer extensive coverage over North America, Mexico and Central America, stretching fr om Arctic Alaska to the South of Panama and from Hawaii to the Caribbean.

The satellite will provide additional Ku-band wide beams and Ku-band High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capability, with connectivity to gateways in Ka-band. SES-15 will serve the thriving aeronautical sector and will enable other traffic intensive data applications such as government, VSAT networks and maritime.

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Services and coverage

SES-15 will serve major global inflight connectivity and entertainment providers who have made significant, long-term pre-commitments.

Thanks to its extensive coverage, SES-15 will be the first satellite to enable airline passengers to access full, seamless HTS coverage from New York all the way to Hawaii - or from Alaska to Mexico. SES-15 is also equipped with a dedicated wide beam that will allow IFEC providers to provide live broadcast of TV content on all flight routes across the entire region. This unique combination of beams enables IFEC providers to optimally utilise HTS capacity for internet traffic and wide beam coverage for broadcasting content.

The satellite will carry a Wide Area Augmentation System- (WAAS) hosted payload, that will enable the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to augment the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) with the goal of improving accuracy, integrity and availability for the aviation industry.



In addition, the HTS capacity of SES-15 will help meet the increasing demand for maritime connectivity as the number of connected ships is expected to grow from over 50,000 in 2015 to around 109,000 by 2025 in North America. The satellite will also provide ideal coverage over the Caribbean, wh ere cruise tourism is thriving, accounting for 40% of the total cruise ships sailing worldwide.

SES-15 will offer high-speed broadband services for other traffic-intensive data applications such as government and enterprise networks. For example, its HTS capacity will offer optimal coverage to the growing number of enterprise VSAT sites in Central America and the Caribbean, which is expected to increase to 148,000 by 2024 and will namely enable rural connectivity, corporate broadband, and banking.

Satellite manufacturer and launcher

SES-15 was built by Boeing Satellite Systems International and is designed to operate for 15 years in geostationary orbit. This is an all-electric 702SP satellite, and it will be the 12th satellite in more than 25 years that SES has ordered from Boeing. It includes up to an 8 kW payload, and weighs 2.3 tons. The satellite is equipped with an electric propulsion system for orbit raising and in-orbit manoeuvres. SES-15 is SES's first satellite to launch on a Soyuz rocket in April 2017. It was launched by Arianespace from Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

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