ARIANESPACE FLIGHT - NSS-12 & THOR 6 The launch readiness review (RAL) took place in Kourou on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 and authorised count-down operations for the NSS-12 & THOR 6 launch. For its sixth launch of the year, Arianespace will orbit two direct broadcast TV satellites: NSS-12 for the operator SES World Skies, a subsidiary of SES, and Thor 6 for Telenor Satellite Broadcasting AS, a subsidiary of the Norwegian operator Telenor. The choice of Arianespace by leading space communications operators and manufacturers is clear international recognition of the companys excellence in launch services. It will be launched from the Ariane launch complex N° 3 (ELA3), in Kourou, French Guiana.
The launch is scheduled on October 29, 2009 as soon as possible within the following launch window:
Launch Window
Universal time
Paris, France
Kourou
Washington, D.C.
Between 8:00 p.m. and 9:40 p.m.on October 29, 2009
Between 9:00 p.m. and 10:40 p.m. on October 29, 2009
Between 5:00 p.m. and 6:40 p.m. on October 29, 2009
Between 4:00 p.m. and 5:40 p.m. on October 29, 2009
Arianespace takes delivery of the sixth Ariane 5 for launch in 2009 The next Ariane 5 mission has moved into its final preparation phase as the vehicle for this sixth flight of 2009 is delivered to Arianespace, keeping the company on track for its busiest year of launch activity ever with the commercial heavy-lift workhorse. Ariane 5s transfer from the Launcher Integration Building to the Spaceports Final Assembly Building marked the delivery of this vehicle to Arianespace, which will oversee the integration of its dual-satellite payload. Following its rollout from the Spaceports Launcher Integration Building in French Guiana - where the vehicles basic build-up was performed by prime contractor EADS Astrium Space Transportation - the Ariane 5 ECA was transferred to the Final Assembly Building, where its dual payload will be installed under Arianespace responsibility. The mission is scheduled for liftoff late this month, carrying SES WORLD SKIES NSS-12 spacecraft and THOR 6 for Telenor Satellite Broadcasting.
SES WORLD SKIES' NSS-12 Satellite Arrives At Kourou Launch Base
SES WORLD SKIES, an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announces that its NSS-12 satellite has safely arrived at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, onboard an Antonov cargo plane. The NSS-12 spacecraft, manufactured by Space Systems/Loral (SSL), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications, will now be readied for launch onboard an Ariane 5 booster, scheduled for lift off on October 29, 2009. The powerful, state-of-the-art NSS-12 satellite will provide comprehensive and robust coverage of some of the world's fastest-growing markets. The spacecraft will replace NSS-703 at 57 degrees East and cover virtually the entire Eastern Hemisphere, bringing increased capacity and transmission power to a key orbital location at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia. The spacecraft features 40 C-band transponders and 48 Ku-band transponders with DTH power levels, as well as elaborate beam interconnectivity and C-/Ku-band cross-strapping. NSS-12 is based on SS/L's space-proven 1300 platform and has been designed to have a minimum expected lifetime of 15 years.