Galileo-FOC FM15 (Nicole), Galileo-FOC FM16 (Zofia), Galileo-FOC FM17 (Alexandre), Galileo-FOC FM18 (Irina) - Ariane 5-ES (VA240) - Kourou ELA-3 - 12.12.2017

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DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace 30 мин. назад

Bye bye... #VA240 #Galileo

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На сайте Arianespace открыта страница миссии VA240. Запущены часы обратного отсчёта до начала трансляции пуска...

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Galileo 19-22 near completion

European Space Agency, ESA

Опубликовано: 5 дек. 2017 г.

The Galileo global navigation satellite system has been offering initial services since almost a year and the performances are great. Independent measurements and evaluation of the system show that the European system is currently the best satellite positioning system in the world. On 12 December, an Ariane 5 will launch from Kourou with 4 new Galileo satellites, adding to the constellation which is set to be completed next year.

(3:42)

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Arianespace‏ @Arianespace 12 ч. назад

Flight #VA240: #Arianespace's second #Ariane5 launch for the #Galileo constellation and Europe http://bit.ly/2iSv5Jv

( )

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Промо-ролик

Arianespace Flight VA240 / Galileo FOC-M7 / SAT 19-20-21-22

arianespace

Опубликовано: 6 дек. 2017 г.

Liftoff is planned on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 at exactly:
 - 3:36:07 p.m., Kourou time
 - 1:36:07 p.m., Washington, D.C. time
 - 18:36:07, Universal Time (UTC)
 - 7:36:07 p.m., Paris time

(0:19)

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http://www.csgpreparationlancement.com/ariane/vol-ariane-231-pose-de-la-coiffe-sur-le-sylda/

6 décembre 2017
Vol Ariane 240 – Pose de la coiffe sur le lanceur

Les 4 satellites Galileo, a été posés sur le dispenseur (la structure d'emport des charges utiles). Ensuite c'est au tour de la coiffe d'Ariane 5 de venir se poser sur cet ensemble. Les 4 satellites seront lancés sur une orbite circulaire MEO (Orbite terrestre moyenne).

6 декабря 2017 г.
Полёт Ariane 240 - Установка головного обтекателя

4 спутника Galileo были установлены на переходнике-диспенсоре. После чего настала очередь установки головного обтекателя Ariane 5. Четыре спутника будут запущены на круговую орбиту MEO (Medium Earth Orbit).

Спойлер

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http://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/galileo-payload-integration/

Ariane 5 | December 7, 2017

The integration of Galileo satellites with Ariane 5 is complete for Arianespace's year-ending heavy-lift mission


Ariane 5's final build-up activity at the Spaceport involved the launcher protective fairing's lowering over the Flight VA240 payload of four Galileo navigation satellites installed atop the launcher vehicle's central core.

Arianespace's Ariane 5 is now complete and ready for its mission next week from the Spaceport in French Guiana, which will orbit four more spacecraft to join the European Galileo constellation of navigation satellites.

During activity in the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building, the Ariane 5's build-up process was completed with the lowering of its ogive-shaped payload fairing over the four satellite passengers – which previously were positioned atop the launcher's core section.

Спойлер

Following final check-out, Ariane 5 will be ready for its rollout to the ELA-3 launch zone on Monday, December 11, positioning this vehicle for a liftoff the next day at exactly 3:36:07 p.m., local time in French Guiana.

The four Galileo satellites, which are clustered around a multi-passenger dispenser system, will be deployed in two phases during the mission to medium Earth orbit (MEO) lasting 3 hours, 55 minutes.

Arianespace's Ariane 5 at the service of Galileo

Ariane 5's afternoon liftoff on December 12 will be the year-ending mission in 2017 for Arianespace – completing a busy 12 months that already have involved 10 flights from the Spaceport: five performed with the heavy-lift workhorse, three utilizing the lightweight Vega and two with the medium-lift Soyuz.

Designated Flight VA240 in Arianespace's numbering system, next Tuesday's mission will mark the second time an Ariane 5 ES version will be employed to orbit satellites for Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system. The Ariane 5 ES configuration has a storable propellant upper stage that replaces the cryogenic upper stage on Ariane 5 ECA launchers typically operated by Arianespace on missions to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) with telecommunication satellite passengers.

For Flight VA240, the storable propellant upper stage is to be ignited twice, bringing it to an altitude of 22,925 kilometers for deployment of the Galileo spacecraft – with 20 minutes between the release of these Full Operational Capability (FOC) satellites in two pairs.

At the completion of next week's mission, Arianespace's will have launched 22 Galileo spacecraft utilizing Ariane 5 and its Soyuz launchers (which orbited two of the navigation payloads per mission). Of this total, 18 are operational satellites, along with four initial In-Orbit Validation (IOV) spacecraft lofted in 2011 and 2012.

Europe's global navigation satellite system

As Europe's own global navigation satellite system operated under civilian control, Galileo is designed to provide guaranteed high-precision positioning around the world. Initial services began in December 2016. The complete Galileo constellation will comprise a total of 24 operational satellites (along with spares).

The Galileo program is funded and owned by the European Union. The European Commission has overall responsibility for the program – with Flight VA240 to be performed by Arianespace on behalf of the European Commission under contract with ESA.

ESA transferred formal responsibility for the oversight of Galileo in-orbit operations to the GSA (European GNSS Agency) in July 2017. Therefore, GSA will be in charge of operating the Galileo satellite navigation systems on behalf of the European Union as of Flight VA240 – and taking responsibility for operating the latest four satellites once they are separated from Ariane 5. Satellite positioning operations and system operation will be carried out in conjunction with ESA.

The Galileo satellites are produced by prime contractor OHB System in Bremen, Germany, with the payloads supplied by U.K.-based Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), which is 99% owned by Airbus Defence and Space.

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Liftoff time for Flight VA240:

[TH]French Guiana[/TH][TH]Washington, D.C.[/TH][TH]Universal Time (UTC)[/TH][TH]Paris[/TH][/TR][TR][TD]

At 3:36:07 p.m.
 on December 12

[/TD][TD]

At 1:36:07 p.m.
 on December 12

[/TD][TD]

At 18:36:07
 on December 12

[/TD][TD]

At 7:36:07 p.m.
 on December 12

[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]

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Arianespace Flight VA240 / Galileo FOC-M7 / SAT 19-20-21-22

arianespace

Опубликовано: 7 дек. 2017 г.

(3:28 )

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http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Navigation/Galileo_satellites_atop_rocket_for_next_Tuesday_s_flight

Galileo satellites atop rocket for next Tuesday's flight


Lowering the fairing

8 December 2017
Europe's next four Galileo navigation satellites are in place atop their Ariane 5, ready to be launched next Tuesday.

Liftoff from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana is scheduled for 18:36 GMT (19:36 CET, 15:36 local time), carrying Galileo satellites 19–22.

Спойлер

Completion of Galileo's Ariane 5 rocket took place in the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building, following the arrival there of the quartet of satellites, already attached to the dispenser that will hold them in position during launch, then release them into their target 22 922 km-altitude orbit
 
Next, the satellites plus dispenser were placed atop the Ariane 5's upper stage, after which the 14 m-long protective fairing was lowered over the Galileos – the last time they will be seen by human eyes. This fairing will protect them from the onrushing atmosphere during ascent.


Encapsulated

The next step will be Monday's rollout to the launch zone.
 
This mission will bring the Galileo system to 22 satellites. Initial Services began almost a year ago, on 15 December 2016.

Next year's launch of another quartet will bring the constellation of 24 satellites to completion, plus two orbital spares.

Galileo is Europe's civil global satellite navigation system. It will allow users worldwide to know their exact position in time and space with great precision and reliability.

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http://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/ariane-5-va240-ral/

Ariane 5 | December 8, 2017

Arianespace's Ariane 5 mission with four Galileo satellites is a "go" for launch

The latest cluster of four Galileo spacecraft has been cleared for liftoff from the Spaceport in French Guiana on Arianespace Flight VA240, using an Ariane 5 to loft these latest additions to Europe's civilian-run satellite navigation constellation.

Спойлер

The payload arrangement for Flight VA240 is depicted in this cutaway drawing.

Approval for the December 12 mission was provided today following the launch readiness review, which is performed prior to each Arianespace flight. The review validated the heavy-lift vehicle's "go" status, along with its Galileo spacecraft, the Spaceport's infrastructure and ground-based tracking resources.

During an afternoon mission that is to depart from the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch facility, the Ariane 5 ES version will deploy its four passengers in two pairs – with their releases separated by 20 minutes.

Ariane 5 and the Galileo dispenser from ArianeGroup

The satellites have a liftoff mass of approximately 715 kg. each, and will be injected into a medium Earth orbit (MEO) at an altitude of 22,925 kilometers. To achieve this, the Ariane 5's storable propellant upper stage will perform two burns during a mission lasting 3 hours and 55 minutes.

As with the workhorse Ariane 5 launcher itself, the multi-passenger dispenser for the four Galileo satellites was developed and built by ArianeGroup. Flight VA240 marks the second time that Arianespace is using the Ariane 5 ES and dispenser system to orbit payloads for Europe's satellite navigation system, following other flights that employed medium-lift Soyuz vehicles carrying two Galileo spacecraft per mission.

Flight VA240 will close out Arianespace's 2017 launch activity, which previously involved 10 flights from the Spaceport: five performed with Ariane 5, three utilizing the lightweight Vega and two with the medium-lift Soyuz.

Liftoff time for Flight VA240:

[TH]

French Guiana

[/TH][TH]

Washington, D.C.

[/TH][TH]

Universal Time (UTC)

[/TH][TH]

Paris

[/TH][/TR][TR][TD]

At 3:36:07 p.m.
 on December 12

[/TD][TD]

At 1:36:07 p.m.
 on December 12

[/TD][TD]

At 18:36:07
 on December 12

[/TD][TD]

At 7:36:07 p.m.
 on December 12

[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]

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Компания Arianespace выпустила обзор готовности к пуску миссии VA240

VA240_RAL_EN.pdf - 189621 B, 2 стр, 2017-12-08 15:25:35 UTC

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/12/08/galileo-navigation-satellites-buttoned-up-for-launch-on-ariane-5-rocket/

Galileo navigation satellites buttoned up for launch on Ariane 5 rocket
December 8, 2017 Stephen Clark


The Ariane 5 rocket's Swiss-made payload fairing was lowered Nov. 30 over four Galileo satellites mounted on top of the launcher inside the final assembly building at the Guiana Space Center in South America. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon

Technicians working in the jungle of French Guiana have installed four new European Galileo navigation satellites on top of their Ariane 5 launcher, and filled the rocket's upper stage with storable liquid propellants for liftoff Tuesday.

The satellite quartet will join 18 others already in space to build out Europe's Galileo fleet, an independent civilian-run analog to the U.S. Air Force's Global Positioning System and the Russian military's Glonass network.

Спойлер

Liftoff of the Ariane 5 rocket is set for an instantaneous launch opportunity at 1836:07 GMT (1:36:07 p.m. EST; 3:36:07 p.m. French Guiana time) Tuesday.

Built by OHB in Bremen, Germany, with navigation instruments provided by Britain's Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., the four satellites arrived at the Guiana Space Center on the northeastern coast of South American in pairs on two trans-Atlantic cargo flights in September and October.

The satellites were tested and fueled with in-orbit maneuvering fuel in a clean room at the European-run spaceport in mid-November, then stacked on a specially-designed dispenser provided by Ariane Group, the industrial consortium owned by Airbus and Safran that oversees the Ariane rocket's supply chain and the French launch services provider Arianespace.

The fully-integrated payload stack moved to the Ariane 5's final assembly building Nov. 28, and cranes hoisted the satellites and their carrier module atop the launcher Nov. 29. The Ariane 5's composite 17.7-foot (5.4-meter) diameter nose shroud was lowered over the satellites Nov. 30 to complete the rocket's assembly.

Each Galileo spacecraft weighs around 1,576 pounds (715 kilograms) at launch.

In parallel with the satellite preparations, ground crews put together the Ariane 5 rocket inside the Guiana Space Center's launcher integration building beginning Oct. 23 with the lifting of the vehicle's cryogenic core stage over its mobile launch platform. Twin solid rocket boosters were rolled into the integration hangar Oct. 24, then moved into position on each side of the first stage for final attachment Oct. 26.

The Ariane 5's upper stage was raised on top of the rocket Nov. 2, along with its vehicle equipment bay, a ring of control avionics and computers that will guide the rocket in flight. Workers transferred the rocket to the nearby final assembly building Nov. 22 to receive its payloads.

Since last week's addition of the Galileo satellites to the launcher, technicians have fueled the Ariane 5's upper stage with hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants.

Next week's mission will fly on the rarely-used Ariane 5 ES version of Europe's workhorse rocket, which uses an upper stage fed by storable hypergolic propellants, not the cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen mixture used on most Ariane 5 launches.

The hydrazine-fueled upper stage's Aestus engine is capable of reigniting multiple times in space, while the Ariane 5's hydrogen-fueled engine can only fire once per launch. Two upper stage burns are needed to place the Galileo satellites into a circular orbit at an altitude of approximately 14,200 miles (22,900 kilometers).


The Ariane 5 rocket's storable propellant upper stage, powered by a restartable Aestus engine, is seen here being lowered atop the first stage last month. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon

Managers from Arianespace and the European Space Agency, which manages procurement and launches for the European Commission's Galileo program, approved final preparations for the flight during a customary launch readiness review Friday.

The Ariane 5 will be towed along dual rail tracks from its final assembly building to the ELA-3 launch zone Monday, and ground crews will prepare the launcher for Tuesday's countdown.

The final countdown is set to begin at 0628 GMT (1:28 a.m. EST), followed by a check of the Ariane 5's electrical systems at 0713 GMT (2:13 a.m. EST).

Workers will put finishing touches on the launch pad, including the closure of doors, removal of safety barriers and configuring fluid lines for fueling. The flight program for the launch will also be loaded into the rocket's computer.

The launch team will begin the process to fuel the rocket with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants around 1343 GMT (8:43 a.m. EST). First, ground reservoirs will be pressurized, then the fuel lines will be chilled down to condition the plumbing for the flow of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which are stored at approximately minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and minus 298 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively.

It will take approximately two hours to fill the Ariane 5 core stage tanks.

The storable liquid propellants on the Ariane 5's second stage and the pre-packed powder fuel inside the Ariane 5's twin boosters are already loaded.

Chilldown conditioning of the Vulcain 2 first stage engine will occur at 1433 GMT (9:33 a.m. EST), and a communications check between the rocket and ground telemetry, tracking and command systems is scheduled for 1726 GMT (12:26 p.m. EST).

The computer-controlled synchronized countdown sequence will begin seven minutes before launch to pressurize propellant tanks, switch to on-board power and take the rocket's guidance system to flight mode.

The Vulcain 2 engine will ignite as the countdown clock reaches zero, followed by a health check and ignition of the Ariane 5's solid rocket boosters seven seconds later to send the 1.5 million-pound launcher skyward.

Five seconds after blastoff, the rocket will begin pitching northeast from the ELA-3 launch pad, surpassing the speed of sound less than a minute into the mission. The Ariane 5's twin solid rocket boosters will jettison 2 minutes, 20 seconds after liftoff.

Once above the dense atmosphere, the launcher's payload fairing will fall away at an altitude of more than 70 miles — about 112 kilometers. The Ariane 5's first stage will shut down 8 minutes, 55 seconds after liftoff, followed moments later by stage separation and ignition of the hydrazine-fueled Aestus engine.

The rocket's upper stage will fire for nearly 11 minutes during the first of two burns on Tuesday's flight, putting the Galileo satellites into an initial egg-shaped transfer orbit.

The Aestus engine is scheduled to cutoff 19 minutes, 58 seconds, after liftoff, beginning a coast of more than three hours.

The upper stage will restart at 3 hours, 27 minutes, 50 seconds, for a second burn lasting more than six minutes. The rocket is aiming for a near-circular orbit more than 14,200 miles above Earth at an inclination of 57 degrees, according to an Arianespace press kit.

The first pair of Galileo satellites will deploy at T+plus 3 hours, 35 minutes, followed by the second pair at T+plus 3 hours, 55 minutes.

The new Galileo satellites will enter service next year, moving the multibillion-dollar European navigation constellation closer to global service, a capability that will require at least 24 healthy spacecraft in orbit.

Four more Galileo satellites are scheduled for launch in July 2018 on another Ariane 5 rocket, while subsequent European navigation craft are contracted to launch on next-generation Ariane 6 rockets starting at the end of 2020.

Tuesday's launch will be the 11th and final flight by Arianespace this year, and the sixth Ariane 5 mission of 2017.

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Arianespace Flight VA240 / Galileo FOC-M7 / SAT 19-20-21-22

arianespace

Опубликовано: 11 дек. 2017 г.

(1:44)

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Arianespace Flight VA240 / Galileo FOC-M7 / SAT 19-20-21-22

arianespace

Опубликовано: 11 дек. 2017 г.

(1:58 )

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DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace 34 мин. назад

Roll-out to the #ZL3 pad completed for our #Ariane5 ES launcher #VA240 #Galileo #CSG


28 мин. назад

And here she is on the #ZL3 pad after the roll-out #Ariane5 #VA240 #Galileo #CSG


13 мин. назад

Our launcher playing hide and seek ;-) #VA240 #Galileo #CSG #Ariane5

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http://www.arianespace.com/mission-update/ariane-5-moves-to-the-launch-zone-for-arianespaces-mission-with-four-galileo-satellites/

Ariane 5 | December 11, 2017

Ariane 5 moves to the launch zone for Arianespace's mission with four Galileo satellites


Arianespace's Ariane 5 for Flight VA240 nears the completion of its rollout to the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch zone for tomorrow's afternoon liftoff with four Galileo satellites.

The next four spacecraft to join Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system are one step closer to launch following the rollout of their Ariane 5 at the Spaceport in French Guiana.

With today's transfer from the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch zone, Arianespace's year-ending mission of 2017 can now enter its final countdown for liftoff tomorrow afternoon.

Спойлер

Designated Flight VA240 in Arianespace's launcher family numbering system, the December 12 launch will deploy its Galileo spacecraft cluster into medium Earth orbit (MEO) at the completion of a mission lasting 3 hours, 55 minutes.

During the trajectory, Ariane 5's storable propellant upper stage will perform two burns, which are to be separated by a 3-hour, 8-minute ballistic phase.

The satellites have a liftoff mass of approximately 715 kg. each, with Ariane 5's overall payload lift performance on Flight VA240 set at 3,282 kg.

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DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace 3 ч назад

Countdown has started for our launch, first meteo check is green so far, showers in the area #VA240 #Galileo

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DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace 22 мин. назад

Weather is green for EPC filling #Ariane5 #VA240 #Galileo

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DutchSpace‏ @DutchSpace 4 мин. назад

So far so good, board is green, EPC being filled #VA240 #Galileo