Two direct-to-home television broadcast satellites that will provide expanded relay capacity over the Americas have been orbited on an Ariane 5 launcher from the Spaceport in French Guiana.
Ariane Flight VA223 carried DirecTV-15 for DirecTV of the US and Sky México’s Sky México-1 were during a flight lasting approximately 38 minutes. This mission’s total lift performance was estimated at 9,960 kg.
As the upper passenger in Ariane 5’s payload arrangement, DirecTV-15 was deployed first in the flight sequence. It was produced by Airbus Defence and Space using the Eurostar E3000 platform, and is among the most powerful broadcast satellites ever built for the United States.
DirecTV-15 is to operate at five different orbital positions between 99-119 degrees West – from which it will provide capacity in the Ku-, Ka- and R-bands for DirecTV. This was the 111th payload from Airbus Defence and Space to be launched by Arianespace.
The second payload deployed by Ariane 5 on today’s mission – Sky México-1 – will be operated for kyY México, which is owned by Mexico’s Grupo Televisa S.A.B. and DirecTV.
Sky México-1 is an Orbital ATK, Inc.-built satellite based the GEOStar-2 platform, and it carries Ku- and R-band transponders deliver to services to the Mexico, Central America and Caribbean regions. With Ariane 5’s latest
success, Sky México-1 became the 26th spacecraft from Orbital ATK, Inc. that Arianespace has launched.
