Current mission update from Spaceflightnow.com
Galileo navigation satellites mounted atop Ariane 5 for launch next week
Official Mission Page: http://www.arianespace.com/mission/ariane-flight-va233/
Launch Kit: http://www.arianespace.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/VA233_Launch-kit_EN.pdf
Press release:http://www.arianespace.com/press-release/arianespaces-first-ariane-5-launch-for-galileo-constellation-and-europe/
Overview
Launch Vehicle|Ariane 5 ES
Launch Date|November 17, 2016
Status|Upcoming
Payload(s)|Galileo FOC M6
Customer(s)|European Comission, European Space Agency (ESA)
Prime Contractor(s)|OHB-System, Surrey Satellite Technology, Ltd.
Launch Site|Spaceport, French Guiana (Guiana Space Center)
Orbit|Medium-Earth Orbit
Mission Description
Galileo, an iconic project for Europe
Worldwide launch time
Kourou|10:06:48 A.M.
Washington. D.C.|08:06:48 A.M.
Universal Time (UTC)|13:06:48
Paris|02:06:48 P.M.
Payload:Galileo FOC-M6, SAT 15-16-17-18
Countdown and Flight
Events
T-12H 8MN|Start of final contdown
T-10H 38MN|Check of electrical systems
T-5H 7MN|Start of filing of EPC with liquid oxygen and hydrogen
T-03H 33MN|Chilldown of Vulcan main stage engine
T-01H 10MN|Check of connections between launcher and the telemetry, tracking and command systems
T-00H 7MN|"All systems go" report, allowing start of synchronized sequence
T-00H 4MN|Tank pressurized for flight
T-00H 1MN|Switch to onboard power mode
T-00H 4S|Onboard systems take over
00:00|LIFTOFF
T+00H 12S|End of vertical climb, beginning of pitch motion
T+00H 17S|Beginning of roll maneuver
T+00H 2MN 19S|EAP separation
T+00H 3MN 44S|Fairing jettisoned
T+00H 8MN 56S|End of EPC thrust phase
T+00H 9MN 1S|EPC separation
T+00H 9MN 8S|EPS ignition
T+00H 19MN 57S|Shut down of EPS (first boost) and beginning of the 1st ballistic phase
T+03H 27MN 49S|EPS ignition
T+03H 34MN 7S|Shut down of EPS (second boost) and the beginning of the 2nd ballistic phase
T+03H 35MN 44S|Separation of the first and third Galileo satellites
T+03H 55MN 44S|Separation of the second and fourth Galileo satellites
T+04H 8MN 28S|Start of upper stage passivation
T+04H 40MN 50S|End of the Arianespace mission
Flight profile
Some more photos from the official webpage gallery:
Galileo navigation satellites mounted atop Ariane 5 for launch next week
An Ariane 5 launcher uniquely modified to loft four of Europe’s Galileo navigation satellites on one flight has received its payload for liftoff next week in French Guiana.
The satellite quartet will boost the size of the Galileo fleet to 18 spacecraft. Officials say 24 satellites are needed for the European navigation network to provide global positioning and timing services independent of U.S. or Russian navigation fleets.
The Galileo satellites will ride aboard a specially-modified version of the Ariane 5 ES with a new dispenser developed by Airbus Defense and Space to accommodate four spacecraft bolted together.
The launcher version designed for Galileo missions also features a shortened nose cone enclosing the satellites, and a lightened Vehicle Equipment Bay structure compared to previous Ariane 5 ES flights, which carried heavy 20-ton Automated Transfer Vehicles on cargo runs to the International Space Station.
Engineers also introduced electrical and thermal modifications to allow the Ariane 5’s upper stage to coast for more than three hours between engine burns, a requirement to inject the Galileo satellites close to their final operational orbits more than 14,000 miles (about 23,000 kilometers) above Earth.
The Ariane 5 ES configuration replaces the Ariane 5’s more commonly-used cryogenic upper stage, powered by a hydrogen-fueled HM7B engine, with an upper stage fitted with a hydrazine-burning Aestus engine. The key difference is the HM7B engine is only designed to fire one time in flight, while the Aestus is capable of multiple starts on the same mission.
Two upper stage burns are necessary for the Nov. 17 launch, but instead of coasting for less than an hour between firings as with previous flights of the Ariane 5 ES variant, the Aestus engine will switch off for more than three hours as the rocket climbs to the 14,000-mile-high altitude of the Galileo fleet for the final injection maneuver.
Each Galileo satellite weighs about 1,580 pounds (717 kilograms) with a full load of fuel, according to a launch information kit released by Arianespace, the Ariane 5’s commercial operator.
Technicians working inside the Guiana Space Center’s final assembly building topped off the 16-story rocket last week with the addition of the four satellites mounted on their dispenser Nov. 2. Workers lowered the rocket’s payload fairing, made in Switzerland by Ruag Space, over the satellites the next day.
The satellites set to go up Nov. 17 are nicknamed Antonianna, Lisa, Kimberley and Tijmen after the winners of a European children’s drawing contest.
Plans call for the Ariane 5 to roll out of the final assembly building for the 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) trip to the launch pad Nov. 15, with the final countdown commencing late Nov. 16.
The Ariane 5’s payload fairing (top) is lowered over the four Galileo satellites already fastened to their carrier module on the Ariane 5 upper stage. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon
Ariane 5 technicians oversee the attachment of the Galileo satellites and their dispenser on the rocket’s upper stage. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon
Official Mission Page: http://www.arianespace.com/mission/ariane-flight-va233/
Launch Kit: http://www.arianespace.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/VA233_Launch-kit_EN.pdf
Press release:http://www.arianespace.com/press-release/arianespaces-first-ariane-5-launch-for-galileo-constellation-and-europe/
Overview
Launch Date|November 17, 2016
Status|Upcoming
Payload(s)|Galileo FOC M6
Customer(s)|European Comission, European Space Agency (ESA)
Prime Contractor(s)|OHB-System, Surrey Satellite Technology, Ltd.
Launch Site|Spaceport, French Guiana (Guiana Space Center)
Orbit|Medium-Earth Orbit
Mission Description
For its ninth launch of the year, and the sixth Ariane 5 liftoff from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in French Guiana during 2016, Arianespace will orbit four more satellites for the Galileo constellation.
This mission is being performed on behalf of the European Commission under a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA).
For the first time, an Ariane 5 ES version will be used to orbit satellites in Europe’s own satellite navigation system. At the completion of this flight, designated Flight VA233 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system, 18 Galileo spacecraft will have been launched by Arianespace.
Arianespace is proud to deploy its entire family of launch vehicles to address Europe’s needs and guarantee its independent access to space.
Galileo, an iconic project for Europe
Galileo is a European initiative to develop a new global satellite navigation system. Under civilian control, it will offer a guaranteed, high-precision positioning service and will end Europe’s dependence on the American GPS system.
The Galileo constellation will comprise a total of 24 operational satellites, along with spares, with 14 already orbited by Arianespace.
Galileo is funded by the European Union. It features innovative technologies developed in Europe for the benefit of all citizens.
Worldwide launch time
Washington. D.C.|08:06:48 A.M.
Universal Time (UTC)|13:06:48
Paris|02:06:48 P.M.
Payload:Galileo FOC-M6, SAT 15-16-17-18
Galileo is a European initiative to develop a new global satellite navigation system. Under civilian control, it will offer a guaranteed, high-precision positioning service and will end Europe’s dependence on the American GPS system.
The Galileo constellation will comprise a total of 24 operational satellites, along with spares, with 14 already orbited by Arianespace.
Galileo is funded by the European Union. It features innovative technologies developed in Europe for the benefit of all citizens.
Countdown and Flight
Events
T-10H 38MN|Check of electrical systems
T-5H 7MN|Start of filing of EPC with liquid oxygen and hydrogen
T-03H 33MN|Chilldown of Vulcan main stage engine
T-01H 10MN|Check of connections between launcher and the telemetry, tracking and command systems
T-00H 7MN|"All systems go" report, allowing start of synchronized sequence
T-00H 4MN|Tank pressurized for flight
T-00H 1MN|Switch to onboard power mode
T-00H 4S|Onboard systems take over
00:00|LIFTOFF
T+00H 12S|End of vertical climb, beginning of pitch motion
T+00H 17S|Beginning of roll maneuver
T+00H 2MN 19S|EAP separation
T+00H 3MN 44S|Fairing jettisoned
T+00H 8MN 56S|End of EPC thrust phase
T+00H 9MN 1S|EPC separation
T+00H 9MN 8S|EPS ignition
T+00H 19MN 57S|Shut down of EPS (first boost) and beginning of the 1st ballistic phase
T+03H 27MN 49S|EPS ignition
T+03H 34MN 7S|Shut down of EPS (second boost) and the beginning of the 2nd ballistic phase
T+03H 35MN 44S|Separation of the first and third Galileo satellites
T+03H 55MN 44S|Separation of the second and fourth Galileo satellites
T+04H 8MN 28S|Start of upper stage passivation
T+04H 40MN 50S|End of the Arianespace mission
Flight profile
Some more photos from the official webpage gallery:
Sep 30, 2016. One of the Ariane 5 ES version’s two solid propellant boosters rolls out for mating to the core stage.
Oct 20, 2016. The fueling of the first Galileo satellites for launch on Ariane 5.
Oct 20, 2016. Fueling operations of the Galileo satellite named “Antonianna” in the Spaceport’s S3B payload processing facility.
Oct 27, 2016. Ariane 5 rolls out to the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building.
Oct 28, 2016. Two Galileo satellites are installed on their dispenser system, with a third being positioned for its integration.