Arianespace has set the launch of its Arabsat 5C and SES-2 satellites SES-2 for Tuesday, September 20, 2011.
Sunday’s launch readiness review for Arianespace’s fifth Ariane 5 launch of 2011 has given the green light for its September 20 liftoff on a mission that will orbit the Arabsat-5C and SES-2 satellites from the Spaceport in French Guiana.
The review confirmed the heavy-lift Ariane 5’s “go” status, along with the readiness of its dual-passenger payload, the launch infrastructure at the Spaceport, and the network of tracking stations that will follow the flight.
The satellites will be launched into space from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana on board an Ariane 5 ECA rocket between 18:38 and 20:02 pm local time (23:38 – 01:02 on September 20-21, 2011 Central European Summer Time).
In Europe, the video broadcast of the launch is available via Astra`s orbital position 19.2 degrees East, transponder 1.037, downlink frequency 11023.25 MHz/H, symbol rate 22.0 MSym/s, FEC 5/6, service ID 5232, service name SES-2 Launch. In North America the live video of the launch is available on AMC-3 at 87 degrees West, downlink frequency 3780.0 MHz/V, service ID 128538.
A webcast is available via Arianespace’s Videocorner. The video of the launch will begin approximately 20 minutes before liftoff.
