Arianespace press release: Liftoff Ariane 5 ECA - DIRECTV 9S - OPTUS D1: Launch delayed by 24 hours. In order to carry out additional checks on components of the launcher, Arianespace has decided to postpone the launch Ariane 5 ECA - DIRECTV 9S - OPTUS D1 by 24 hours.
The launch is now slated for the night of Friday, October 13, 2006, at the opening of the following launch window: GMT: Between 8:56 pm and 9:56 pm on October 13. PARIS: Between 10:56 pm and 11:56 pm on October 13. WASHINGTON: Between 4:56 pm and 5:56 pm on October 13. KOUROU: Between 5:56 pm and 6:56 pm on October 13. TOKYO: Between 5:56 am and 6:56 am on October 14. SYDNEY: Between 6:56 am and 7:56 am on October 14.
For its fourth launch of the year Arianespace will boost three satellites into orbit: DIRECTV 9S for American operator DIRECTV, Inc., OPTUS D1 for the Australian operator OPTUS, and the experimental satellite LDREX-2 for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Launch window: GMT: Between 8:56 pm and 9:56 pm on October 12. PARIS: Between 10:56 pm and 11:56 pm on October 12. WASHINGTON: Between 4:56 pm and 5:56 pm on October 12. KOUROU: Between 5:56 pm and 6:56 pm on October 12. TOKYO: Between 5:56 am and 6:56 am on October 13. SYDNEY: Between 6:56 am and 7:56 am on October 13.
The DIRECTV 9S satellite is fuelled at the Spaceport. The intricate fuelling process for both primary payloads on Ariane 5's upcoming mission has now been completed in the state-of-the-art S5 satellite processing facility at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
DIRECTV 9S - the larger of Ariane 5's two passengers - was "topped off" with its bipropellant load yesterday in the S5A hall of the massive S5 building. This follows last week's fuelling of the Optus D1 spacecraft in the adjacent S5B high bay. The S5 building is composed of three primary preparation halls (S5A, S5B and S5C), all of which are internal connected by corridors. This allows multiple payloads to simultaneously undergo their full preparation process, from initial checkout to fueling and final pre-launch validation, under one roof in and in clean room conditions.
Arianespace has announced the launch will be from 20:56 till 21:56 UTC on October 12
The American DirecTV 9S direct-to-home broadcasting spacecraft and the Australian Optus D1 communications satellite launch aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket with a cryogenic upper stage from ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana on October 12th. The Japanese LDREX mission is aboard the Ariane 5 as a secondary payload.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been informed by Arianespace today that the launch schedule of the launch vehicle that will carry their Large Deployable Reflector Small-sized Partial Model 2 (LDREX-2) will be delayed to late September.
The LDREX-2 was originally scheduled to be launched by an Ariane 5 launch vehicle in mid September from the Kourou Launch Site in French Guiana, South America. A new launch date will be announced as soon as it is determined.
Launch Schedule of Large Deployable Reflector Small-sized Partial Model 2 (LDREX-2)
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announce that, today, they were informed by Arianespace that the launch schedule of the launch vehicle that will carry their Large Deployable Reflector Small-sized Partial Model 2 (LDREX-2) had been set.
JAXA has been planning a deployment experiment of a small-sized partial model of the Large-scale deployable antenna reflectors (LDR), the LDREX-2, (antenna technology demonstration mission) which is scheduled to be launched by an Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle with a cryogenic upper stage, which will launch from the Kourou Launch complex in French Guiana, South America. The experiment aims to verify the performance of the LDR instrument onboard the Engineering Test Satellite VIII (ETS-VIII.) The ETS-VIII is scheduled to be launched on September 19, 2006, from the Kourou Launch Site in French Guiana, South America.
The Ariane 5 ECA rockets primary payloads are two geostationary satellites; the American DirecTV 9S direct-to-home broadcasting spacecraft and the Australian Optus D1 communications satellite. The Japanese 211kg LDREX-2 test satellite is a secondary payload.
The LDR will be neatly folded into a 1 metre diameter x 4 metres in length package when it is loaded on top of the launch vehicle, but when deployed in orbit measure 19 x 17 metres.