Arabsat 5C

Spacecraft n°:

Saudi Arabian spacecraft n°: 24

Launch data: Designation  37810 / 11049B Launch date  21 Sep 2011 - 21:38 UT Launch site  Ko, ELA-3 Launch vehicle  Ariane-5ECA (561) Mission  Government: Communication Geostationary orbit: Perigee / Apogee  35766 x 35805 km Eccentricity  4,63E-04 Inclination  0.06 deg Period  1436.1 min

Description:

• ARABSAT 5C is a communications satellite for broadcasting and Internet services. The satellite is destined for an orbital slot 22,300 miles (35,888 km) over the equator at 20 degrees east longitude. The satellite's mission is to provide broadcasting, telephony, professional communications, Internet routing, VSAT and interactive services across the Middle East and Africa.

Mission details:

• Grounded for a day by a labor dispute at the launch base, the Ariane 5 (vehicle 561) rocket ignited its clean-burning hydrogen-fueled Vulcain 2 main engine at 2138 GMT (5:38 p.m. EDT) on Sep 21, 2011, waited seven seconds for a computer-run health check, then fired two cylindrical solid rocket boosters and climbed away from the Guiana Space Center.
• The 16-story rocket successfully released both payloads at the correct point in space, reaching an transfer orbit ranging from 155 miles [249 km] to 22,300 miles [35,888 km] high with an inclination of 1.99 degrees.
• Arabsat 5C is an Astrium/Thales Eurostar 3000 C-band/Ka-band communications satellite for Arab countries.