ARIANESPACE FLIGHT - HELIOS 2B :December, 2009

[Notebook]

ARIANESPACE FLIGHT - HELIOS 2B
The launch readiness review (RAL) took place in Kourou on Monday, December 7, 2009 and authorized count-down operations for the HELIOS 2B launch.
For its seventh launch of the year, Arianespace will place the HELIOS 2B observation satellite into sun-synchronous polar orbit for the French Ministry of Defense.
Arianespace continues to set the global launch Service & Solutions standard for all operators, whether civil or military. This launch also clearly illustrates the strategic role played by the Ariane launch vehicle, which guarantees independent access to space for all European governments.
It will be launched from the Ariane launch complex N° 3 (ELA3), in Kourou, French Guiana.
The Ariane 5 GS launcher lift-off for this flight is scheduled on December 9, 2009 at exactly:

KOUROU TIME 01:26 pm on December 9, 2009


Launch opportunity (UT) 04:26 pm on December 9, 2009


Paris Time 05:26 pm on December 9, 2009

Washington Time 11:26 am on December 9, 2009


http://www.videocorner.tv/index.htm
Live webcasting start 20 minutes before lift-off.

N.

 

[Notebook]

FLIGHT 193 : LAUNCH DELAYED
Kourou, December 9, 2009 - During final count-down operations for Flight 193 slated for today, an anomaly occurred in a launcher subsystem.
As a result, Arianespace has decided to replace this part, and thus to postpone the launch for a few days.
The launch vehicle and its HELIOS 2B satellite payload have been placed in stand-by mode and maintained in fully safe conditions.

N.

 

[Notebook]

ARIANESPACE FLIGHT - HELIOS 2B
Launch now scheduled for December 17
Corrective actions on the liquid helium subsystem on Ariane 5’s cryogenic main stage are now being completed, enabling Arianespace to set a new date for the launch of the HELIOS 2B satellite.
Liftoff of the Ariane 5 launcher is now scheduled for Thursday, December 17, 2009, at:

Launch opportunity (UT)
04:26 pm
on December 17, 2009
​

​

​

​

 

[Notebook]

Arianespace launch 193 – HELIOS 2B
Arianespace delivers Helios 2B into Sun-synchronous polar orbit on Ariane 5's seventh flight of 2009
Arianespace wrapped up another successful year of operations with today’s orbiting of the French Helios 2B military observation satellite, which was lofted on the seventh Ariane 5 launch in 2009.
This daytime mission underscored Ariane 5’s capability to accommodate a full range of satellite payloads by placing Helios 2B into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit during a flight lasting just under one hour.
It was the third time in 2009 that Arianespace’s workhorse launcher carried defense and security payloads. On its year-opening mission in February, Ariane 5 lofted two Spirale satellite demonstrators for a French-developed future early warning system, while its October 1 flight deployed the COMSATBw-1 secure telecommunications platform for Germany’s armed forces.
Chairman & CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said these missions “underscore the strategic nature” of Arianespace’s role as a launch services provider, and confirms the access to space provided by a system that is backed by European governments and its space industry.
The successful close-out of 2009 launch operations came only days before the 30th anniversary of Ariane’s maiden flight, which was performed on December 24, 1979 with an Ariane 1 version.

Missed it! Stuck in T5 at Heathrow, 1/16" of snow, and flights cancelled and delayed...

Anyone catch it?

N.

 

[garyw]

Yes, you didn't miss much, the English language broadcast was in French so it was hard to get a handle on what it was all about.

 

[Notebook]

Had a look at the replay on the video link, I see the webcam tey had tied to a tree dissapeared at launch. Quick cut to another shot though.

It does go up quick, dosen't it...

Thirty years since Arianne 1, gosh that makes me feel old, but I am old...

N.