IronRain
The One and Only (AFAIK)
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Hidden under Ariane 5 L5100’s payload fairing is Intelsat 37e, riding in the front seat, and BSat-4a, fastened to the rocket’s second stage and hidden under the Sylda adapter that allows Ariane 5 to lift a pair of satellites in a stacked configuration. The two passengers and their adapter systems create a total payload upmass of 10,838 Kilograms, making this the second heaviest Ariane 5 mission to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
Lifting two GEO satellites at once has become Ariane’s bread and butter business and Tuesday’s launch was expected to be no different. The 55-meter tall rocket was rolled to the ELA-3 launch pad at the Guiana Space Center on Monday and entered countdown operations on Tuesday at 10:28 UTC, gearing up for the opening of a 33-minute launch window at 21:51 UTC, 6:51 p.m. local time or just 15 minutes after sunset and perfectly clear skies expected for the opportunity.
Ariane 5 went into power up operations after 11 UTC and completed an extensive series of tests before heading into propellant loading to receive 184 metric tons of supercold Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen. Propellants were kept topped up at flight level throughout the countdown and the colorful sunset provided a fitting backdrop to the launch vehicle as it entered a final computer-controlled countdown sequence at T-7 minutes to transition to an autonomous configuration.
No issues arose during the automated countdown sequence and Ariane 5 went through pressurization of its tanks, transitioned to internal power and switched control from ground computers to its own flight computers. The Cryogenic Feed Arms retracted from the second stage at T-5 seconds and the trusted Vulcain 2 main engine fired up when clocks hit zero at 21:51:00 UTC with seven seconds of thrust build-up and engine monitoring planned before ignition of the twin EAP Boosters – the point of no-return.
Source: http://spaceflight101.com/ariane-5-s...gine-ignition/
Lifting two GEO satellites at once has become Ariane’s bread and butter business and Tuesday’s launch was expected to be no different. The 55-meter tall rocket was rolled to the ELA-3 launch pad at the Guiana Space Center on Monday and entered countdown operations on Tuesday at 10:28 UTC, gearing up for the opening of a 33-minute launch window at 21:51 UTC, 6:51 p.m. local time or just 15 minutes after sunset and perfectly clear skies expected for the opportunity.
Ariane 5 went into power up operations after 11 UTC and completed an extensive series of tests before heading into propellant loading to receive 184 metric tons of supercold Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen. Propellants were kept topped up at flight level throughout the countdown and the colorful sunset provided a fitting backdrop to the launch vehicle as it entered a final computer-controlled countdown sequence at T-7 minutes to transition to an autonomous configuration.
No issues arose during the automated countdown sequence and Ariane 5 went through pressurization of its tanks, transitioned to internal power and switched control from ground computers to its own flight computers. The Cryogenic Feed Arms retracted from the second stage at T-5 seconds and the trusted Vulcain 2 main engine fired up when clocks hit zero at 21:51:00 UTC with seven seconds of thrust build-up and engine monitoring planned before ignition of the twin EAP Boosters – the point of no-return.
Source: http://spaceflight101.com/ariane-5-s...gine-ignition/
