The launch vehicle for Arianespace's record sixth Ariane 5 flight of 2007 has been delivered to French Guiana, maintaining the company's sustained mission pace in response to growing customer demand for its Service and Solutions commercial offer. Completing a trans-Atlantic voyage from Europe, the Ariane 5 GS vehicle arrived yesterday (October 23) aboard the MN Colibri – one of two roll-on/roll-off cargo ships used in support of Arianespace mission operations.
This Ariane 5 is scheduled for launch before the end of 2007, marking the first time that six flights of the workhorse vehicle have been performed in one year. Arianespace is accelerating the Ariane 5 mission pace to accommodate its growing order book, with a stabilized rate of eight launches annually to be reached by 2009.
Arianespace's milestone sixth mission of 2007 will carry the Rascom 1 and Horizons-2 telecommunications satellites – both of which were booked for Ariane 5 launches within the past several months, underscoring Arianespace's reactivity for its customers' requirements.
The MN Colibri with its Ariane 5 GS docked at Pariacabo port near Kourou, where ground team members were standing by to transfer the vehicle's components to the launcher integration building at Europe's Spaceport. This building is ready to receive the newest Ariane 5 for assembly, having just completed the build-up of another Ariane 5 launcher that was transferred on Monday to the Spaceport's final assembly facility for the outfitting of its Skynet 5B and Star One C1 dual-satellite payload.
Arianespace's heavy-lift Ariane 5 launch with Skynet 5B and Star One C1 is set for November 9, followed several weeks later by the year-ending Ariane 5 flight with Rascom 1 and Horizons-2.
