Arianespace's next Ariane 5 flight has been approved for liftoff on June 8 following the successful launch readiness review on June 6 which was conducted at the Spaceport in French Guiana.
This key milestone—held prior to each Arianespace mission—confirmed that the heavy-lift launcher and its dual-satellite payload are flight-ready, along with the Spaceport's infrastructure and the network of downrange tracking stations. With the readiness review completed, Ariane 5 has been authorized for rollout tomorrow from the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch zone, where this vehicle will be readied for liftoff on Wednesday, during a 45 minute launch window that opens at 5:30 p.m. local time in French Guiana.
The placement of decals on Ariane 5’s payload fairing for Flight VA230 is shown in this photo series. At left, the Echostar XVIII and DISH logos are positioned on the fairing’s upper section, followed by the BRIsat logo under it (at right).
Photo is courtesy of Arianespace.
Ariane 5 will deliver a lift performance of approximately 10,730 kg during the mission—designated Flight VA230—with this total factoring in the both the Echostar XVIII and BRIsat satellite passengers, plus the workhorse vehicle's dual-payload deployment system and integration hardware.
To be released first during the 42 minute flight sequence, Echostar XVIII is the mission's upper passenger and it is to be orbited for operator DISH Network L.L.C. The spacecraft features a high-power multi-spot beam in the Ku-band to assure the highest levels of ongoing service to DISH customers in the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii.
Located below Echostar XVIII in the launcher's dual payload arrangement is the mission's lower passenger, BRIsat. Once in orbit, this satellite will serve PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. (BRI), the country's oldest and most profitable bank, providing enhanced secure banking communications for more than 10,600 operational branches, approximately 237,000 electronic channel outlets and nearly 53 million customers across the Indonesian archipelago.
Both EchoStar XVIII and BRIsat were built by U.S.-based SSL (Space Systems Loral) and are to be deployed into geostationary transfer orbit on the June 8 launch with Arianespace's workhorse Ariane 5.