Ariane 5 successfully placed the MTG-I1 meteorological satellite and the Galaxy 35 and Galaxy 36 telecommunications satellites into orbit on Tuesday evening. It was the European rocket’s third and final mission of the year.
The rocket took off at 5:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. in Switzerland) from the Kourou space center in French Guiana, an AFP journalist noted. ‘And one, and two, and three! There are no zeros tonight, only winners. We are very happy that Ariane has still done the work,” said Stéphane Israël, President of Arianespace, following the launch.
For its last mission of the year, Ariane 5 placed the three satellites in geostationary orbit between 27 and 34 minutes following takeoff. It was a special mission given the total weight of the payloads – 10.9 tons – which makes it the second most successful launch in the rocket’s history.
This 115th Ariane 5 mission is also one of its last. Two more launches are planned for the first half of next year before its big sister Ariane 6 takes over in the last quarter of 2023.
“And its order book is full as an egg,” rejoiced the president of Arianespace.
/ATS
