The fifth Ariane-5 of this year has arrived in French Guiana—Arianespace keeps up its mission pace during the busiest year of commercial mission activity for this workhorse launch vehicle. Components of the heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA were delivered to Pariacabo port near Kourou by the MN Toucan, which is one of two roll-on/roll-off vessels used by Arianespace to carry launch vehicle elements from Europe to South America. These components were then transferred to the Spaceport, where they will be assembled inside the Launcher Integration Building.
This facility is ready to receive the Ariane 5 following last week’s roll-out of another heavy-lift launcher, which was transferred to the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building in preparation for a July 4th liftoff with the ProtoStar-I and BADR-6 satellite payloads. Arianespace has successfully performed three of its planned seven Ariane 5 launches in 2008 as the company responds to the in-orbit delivery requirements of its international customer base.
