Arianespace schedules Arabsat 5A launch
By Robert Briel
May 27, 2010 20.52 UK

Arianespace has set Wednesday, June 23, 2010 as the date for the next Ariane 5 launch.
On its second launch of the year, Arianespace will loft into orbit the Arabsat 5A telecommunications satellite for operator Arabsat and the multi-mission COMS satellite for Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

Astrium supplied the Eurostar E3000 satellite bus on which Arabsat 5A is based and was also responsible for its assembly and testing. The spacecraft’s communications payload – which features 26 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders – was provided by Thales Alenia Space. It will weigh 4,800 kg at launch and is designed for a nominal lifetime of 15 years.

Arabsat 5A is the initial fifth-generation spacecraft for Arabsat, and will be located at an orbital position of 30.5 degrees East. It will provide additional capacity for a full range of satellite communications services over sub-Saharan Africa, the North Africa and Middle East (MENA) region and beyond.