The Ariane 5 rocket managed to launch two communications satellites into orbit on Wednesday evening, allowing Europe to return to space after a months-long hiatus caused by the suspension of Russian Soyuz spacecraft launches.
The rocket lifted off at 18:50 local time (2150 GMT) from the Kourou launch site in French Guiana after a 45-minute countdown pause for technical checks, an AFP correspondent said.
The rocket carried the Myasat-3D satellite of the Malaysian telecommunications company Myasat and GSat 24, which is operated by the commercial arm of the Indian Space Agency, according to Arian Space and Arian Group. This is stated in a joint statement.
Two satellites with a total payload of 9.8 tons are designed for communication and television broadcasting via satellite. Myasat-3D will also be able to provide high-speed Internet connection services and will be used by the South Korean space agency to improve the country’s air traffic control.
More than 28 minutes after the start of the operation, the rocket launched the Myasat-3D satellite to an altitude of about 1200 km, and another 12 minutes later, the GSat-24 satellite, while the rocket was above the Indian Ocean at an altitude of 3800 km.
From “geostationary transfer” orbits, the two satellites will reach their position about 36,000 km from Earth, where they will begin their mission. The service life of Miasat-3D is over 18 years and GSat 24 is 15 years.
The launch is the second from the Guiana Space Center this year and the first since the last launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kourou on Feb. 10, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine cut off any European cooperation with Russia and stripped the Kourou of its base. of three Soyuz rocket launches originally scheduled for 2022.
The European Space Agency, which is responsible for European launch programs, still needs to launch two Ariane 5 rockets and two Vega rockets smaller than Ariane by the end of the year.
