Ariane 5 ECA carries record payload mass to GTO
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Ariane 5 ECA climbs into the evening sky
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28 May 2006
On the evening of 27 May, an Ariane 5 ECA launcher lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on its mission to place two telecommunications satellites into geostationary transfer orbit. Lift-off took place at 18:09 French Guiana time (21:09 GMT/UTC, 23:09 CEST/Paris).
The 50.5-metre tall launch vehicle was carrying the Satmex 6 telecommunications satellite for the Mexican operator Satelites Mexicanos SA de CV and the Thaicom 5 telecommunications satellite for Thailand's Shin Satellite Public Company Limited. With a combined mass of around 8300 kg, the two satellites set a record for the largest payload mass carried into geostationary transfer orbit.
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Ariane 5 ECA lift-off
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The upper stage cryogenic engine was shut down 24m51s after lift-off. By this time the launch vehicle upper composite had attained a velocity of approximately 9400 metres per second (almost 33 900 km/h) and the conditions for geostationary transfer orbit injection had been achieved.
Satmex 6 was the first satellite to separate, followed by Thaicom 5. Injection into the target geostationary transfer orbit for the two spacecrafts was achieved with very high precision.
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Related articles
| | • | Ariane 5 ECA - V171 launch in pictures (http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMW6P9ATME_index_0.html) | | | • | Visit Kourou (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Launchers_Europe_s_Spaceport/SEMZ3QWA6QD_0.html) | | | • | Countdown (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Launchers_Home/SEMSPZ2PGQD_0.html) | | | • | Build a launcher (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Launchers_Home/SEMACN2PGQD_0.html) | |
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