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Final launch of Ariane 5 GS completes busy year

19 December 2009 Yesterday, an Ariane 5 GS launcher lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on a journey to place the French military reconnaissance satellite Helios-2B into Sun-synchronous polar orbit. Flight V193 was the seventh Ariane 5 launch of 2009 and used the last of the GS version of the launcher.

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Vega ‘Fardier’ in front of the mobile gantry

First test of Vega launch pad components

18 November 2009 Earlier this month, a number of Vega launch pad mechanical components were tested to verify their ability to transfer the launch vehicle’s first stage from a specialised transport vehicle, known as the ‘Fardier’, to the launch table.

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Another dual launch for Ariane 5

30 October 2009 Last night, an Ariane 5 ECA launcher lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on a journey to place two telecommunications satellites, NSS-12 and Thor 6, into geostationary transfer orbits. Flight V192 was the sixth Ariane 5 launch of 2009 and the fourth dual-payload mission.

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