EchoStar XVII final construction stages May 22, 2012
[SatNews] The collaborative effort of three major companies resulted in launching one of the highest capacity satellites…ever!
EchoStar XVII successfully launched today, Thursday, July 5 from the Guiana Space Center European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The EchoXVII satellite, built for Hughes Network Systems by Space Systems/Loral, is at the launch location at the European Spaceport in Kourou, already loaded onto the Ariane 5 rocket and ready to make its final journey down the track to the launch platform. Once the satellite successfully achieves orbit and confirms ground communication, it will provide HughesNet Gen4 high-speed Internet service to consumers and small businesses throughout North America.
Arianespace continued Ariane 5’s track record of success tonight by using the heavy-lift workhorse to orbit a mixed payload of telecommunications and meteorological spacecraft on the launcher’s 63rd flight.
For this third Ariane 5 mission of 2012, the EchoStar XVII and MSG-3 passengers were deployed into geostationary transfer orbit during a 34-minute flight. Total payload lift performance was approximately 9,640 kg., which included the combined mass of the EchoStar XVII and MSG-3 spacecraft, plus the launch vehicle’s dual-passenger dispenser system and satellite integration hardware.
Arianespace will orbit two satellites on its third Ariane 5 launch of the year: the dedicated Internet satellite EchoStar XVII for the American operator and service provider Hughes, and the MSG-3 weather satellite for EUMETSAT, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.
With an estimated liftoff mass of 6,100 kg., EchoStar XVII will be operated by Hughes Network Systems from an orbital position of 107.1° West – delivering broadband services to consumers, businesses and government customers across North America. The telecommunications spacecraft is based on Space Systems/Loral’s 1300-series platform and is to operate in the Ka-band.
EchoXVII is one of the highest capacity satellites ever built, incorporating high-throughput Ka-band spot-beam technology. As a further tribute to EchoStar/Hughes synergy, EchoStar received an Emmy Award in 2004 for the pioneering development of satellite spot-beam technology, the very same technology that will now enable the advanced capabilities and services for HughesNet Gen4.
Ariane 5 is the only commercial satellite launcher now on the market capable of handling a complete range of missions, from launches of commercial satellites into geostationary orbit, to dedicated launches into special orbits.
EchoStar XVII will be the second satellite launched by Arianespace for the American operator Hughes Network Systems, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. Weighing 6,100 kg at launch, EchoStar XVII will be injected into geostationary transfer orbit, then moved to its orbital position at 107.1 degrees West. Built by Space Systems/Loral using a 1300 platform, EchoStar XVII is a next-generation broadband Ka-band satellite. It will round out the HughesNet® services offering in North America, bolstering the orbital capacity offered by the Spaceway® 3 satellite. The payload on this new satellite offers a total capacity of well over 100 Gbps.
MSG-3 was the ninth Meteosat-series weather satellite launched by Ariane vehicles since 1981. Weighing approximately 2,000 kg. at liftoff, it will provide highly detailed imagery of Europe, the North Atlantic and Africa for use by meteorologists and national weather forecasters. Resulting from a close collaboration involving EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) and the European Space Agency, MSG-3 was produced in an industry consortium led by Thales Alenia Space.
MSG-3 will ensure service continuity for EUMETSAT, providing meteorologists with a powerful tool for the detection and prediction of weather-related events in Europe and surrounding regions.
The choice of Arianespace by leading space communications operators and manufacturers is clear international recognition of the company’s excellence in launch services. Based on its proven reliability and availability, Arianespace continues to confirm its position as the world’s benchmark launch system.
EUMETSAT is an intergovernmental organization, grouping 26 Member States and 5 Cooperating States.
1—The ARIANESPACE mission – EchoStar XVII & MSG-3
2—Range operations campaign: EchoStar XVII & MSG-3
3—Launch countdown and flight events – EchoStar XVII & MSG-3
4—Flight Trajectory
5—The ARIANE 5 launch vehicle
6—The EchoStar XVII satellite
7—The MSG-3 satellite
