Ariane 5 completes tripple launch with robotic space tug and two communication satellites

After several weeks of delays owing to the weather conditions and rocket checks, Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket was launched on Saturday, August 15 carrying a robotic space tug along with two other communication satellites. The new space tug is only the second-ever sent to the orbit to extend the life of older satellites.

Arianespace’s rocket carried the Mission Extension Vehicle-2 (MEV-2) into space, putting the vehicle en route to an Intelsat satellite scheduled for a boost to a higher orbit. It delivered two other satellites for broadband communications marking Ariane 5’s fifth successful mission this year.

Apart from MEV-2. Ariane 5 delivered Galaxy-30 and BSAT-4B into their planned transfer orbits and the liftoff was announced at 23:04 BST on Saturday from Europe’s Spaceport in  Kourou, French Guiana, for a mission that lasted for less than an hour. The first satellite to be released was the Galaxy-30 with a launch mass of 3,298kg in around 27 minutes. This was followed by the release of 2,85kg MEV-2 just seven minutes later. The 3,530kg BSAT-4B was delivered into its own geostationary transfer orbit about 13 minutes after MEV-2.

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First launch after resuming of operations

Even though it was a long road for the launch that was originally scheduled for July 28, the liftoff also marked the first operation following the restart of activities at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana that were suspended due to COVID-19 crisis. Intelsat-owned Galaxy-30 will be responsible to deliver high-performance broadcast distribution capabilities and has a design life of at least 15 years. 

The MEV-2 is owned by Northrop Grumman will be used for in-orbit satellite servicing and BSAT-4B owned and operated by Japan’s Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation will provide high-definition direct-to-home television services across the Japan archipelago.

Ariane 5 is operated by Arianespace from Europe’s Spaceport and is able to carry payloads that weigh more than ten tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit and those over 20 tonnes into the low-Earth orbit.

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