Friday, October 13, 2006

Ariane 5 Rocket to Launch Satellite Trio Today

A Spaceflight Now article by Justin Ray, via Space.com, reports that:

A heavy-lifting Ariane 5 rocket loaded with payloads from the U.S., Australia and Japan is scheduled for blastoff at 2056 GMT (4:56 p.m. EDT) today from Kourou, French Guiana.

The Arianespace booster will deploy the American DirecTV 9S direct-to-home broadcasting spacecraft and the Australian Optus D1 telecommunications satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit from the Guiana Space Center on the northeastern shore of South America. Later, a large antenna experiment for the Japanese space agency will attempt to unfurl from the rocket's spent upper stage.

Today's available launch window extends an hour to 2156 GMT (5:56 p.m. EDT).

More here.

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