On Thursday, June 1, Ariane 5 completed a flawless launch from Europe’s spaceport at the French Guiana Space Centre (CSG), orbiting two new telecommunications satellites: ViaSat-2, built by Boeing for operator ViaSat Inc., and Eutelsat 172B, built by Airbus Defence & Space for operator Eutelsat. The flight marked the European launcher’s 79th straight success since 2003, the fifth launch of the year from the CSG and Ariane 5’s third in 2017.
With a launch mass of 6,418 kilograms, ViaSat-2 is a telecommunications satellite built by Boeing in El Segundo, California, for operator ViaSat Inc. ViaSat-2 will bring considerable improvements in terms of speed, lower costs and extended broadband coverage within its footprint, which includes North and Central America, plus the Caribbean, northern South America and aeronautical and maritime routes in the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe. It has an expected service lifetime of more than 14 years.
With a launch mass of 3,551 kilograms, Eutelsat 172B is the first all-electric telecommunications satellite, built by Airbus Defence & Space for operator Eutelsat. Its innovative technology is built around the new Eurostar E3000 EOR (Electric Orbit Raising) spacecraft bus. Eutelsat 172B will deliver increased satellite capacity for fast-growing applications that include in-flight and maritime connectivity, cellular backhaul, corporate networks, video distribution and government services, providing exceptional Asia-Pacific coverage over land and sea, from Alaska to Australia. It has an expected service lifetime of more than 15 years.
