Payloads Installed Atop Ariane 5

LAUNCH PAD

Ariane 5's upper payload component, the encapsulated Satmex 6, is readied for installation atop the launcher. Satmex 6 is installed on a SYLDA 5 payload dispenser, which enables the upper payload component to be placed over the Thaicom 5 lower passenger. Thaicom 5, already mated to the Ariane 5, is partly visible in the foreground. Image credit: Arianespace

by Staff Writers
Kourou, French Guyana (SPX) May 19, 2006
Launch team members topped off the Ariane 5 ECA heavy-lift launcher Thursday by completing integration of its two satellite payloads, which have a combined weight of about 8.3 metric tons (18,600 pounds). The launch remains scheduled for May 26.

Ariane 5's upper payload, the Satmex 6, will have a liftoff mass of about 5,700 kilograms (12,450 pounds). It will be utilized by Satelites Mexicanos, S.A. de C.V. to provide coverage over the Continental United States, Mexico and South America.

Satmex 6 is based on Space Systems/Loral's FS-1300X satellite bus and carries a mixed relay payload of 36 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders.

Thaicom 5, the lower payload, was built by Alcatel Alenia Space and is based on the European manufacturer's Spacebus satellite design. The spacecraft will have a liftoff mass of approximately 2,800 kilograms (6,160 pounds).

Thaicom 5 will be operated by Thailand's Shin Satellite Public Company Limited for Ku-band and C-band telecommunications and television services throughout the Asia/Pacific region, and is to be located at an orbital position of 78.5 degrees east longitude.

The three-axis stabilized spacecraft will allow Shin Satellite to retire its Thaicom 1 and Thaicom 2 satellites, launched by Arianespace in 1993 and 1994, respectively.

Arianespace also orbited Shin Satellite's Thaicom 1 spacecraft in 1997, and an Ariane 5 lofted the heavyweight Thaicom 4 platform in August 2005. Thaicom 4 boasted a record mass of 6,485 kilograms (14,260 pounds).

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Arianespace
Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

LAUNCH PAD

Sea Launch To Orbit Next Satellite In June

Washington DC (RIAN) May 19, 2006
Sea Launch, the world's sole company to orbit satellites from a pad in equatorial waters, will send an American satellite into space in June, the international consortium said Thursday.

ENERGY TECH New Laser Technique That Strips Hydrogen From Silicon Surfaces Australian PM seeks cooperation with Canada on climate change Pressure builds on China after Japan Australia iron ore price deal China insists its market must be factored in iron ore pricing	CIVIL NUCLEAR Russia offers to build Turkey's first nuclear plants Russia planning to bid in Vietnam nuclear power plant tender Czech power company CEZ selects Russian nuclear fuel supplier Blair signals new generation of British nuclear power stations
BLUE SKY In The Baltics Spring And Smoke Is In The Air UNH And NASA Unlock The Puzzle Of Global Air Quality Project Achieves Milestone In Analyzing Pollutants Dimming The Atmosphere The 'Oxygen Imperative'	WOOD PILE Himalayan Forests Disappearing Global Pulp Mill Growth Threatens Forests, May Collapse Experts Sound Alarm Over State Of Czech Forests Diverse Tropical Forests Defy Metabolic Ecology Models
FARM NEWS Who Really Buys Organic Alternatives To The Use Of Nitrate As A Fertiliser Researchers Trawl The Origins Of Sea Fishing In Northern Europe Greens Happy As EU Tightens GMO Testing	CAR TECH Activists Press Ford On Environmental Policies Prototype For Revolutionary One-Metre Wide Vehicle Is Developed Highly Realistic Driving Simulator Helps Develop Safer Cars Research On The Road To Intelligent Cars
AEROSPACE British Aerospace Production Up Strongly In First Quarter Face Of Outdoor Advertising Changes With New Airship Design NASA Denies Talks With Japan On Supersonic Jet Test Pilot Crossfield Killed In Private Plane Crash	NUCLEAR SPACE Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement