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A.P.P. Arianespace Maiaspace Nucletudes Pyroalliance Sodern
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A.P.P. Arianespace Maiaspace Nucletudes Pyroalliance Sodern

OPERATED BY ARIANESPACE FOR THE BENEFIT OF SES AND THE FRENCH MINISTRY OF THE ARMED FORCES; ARIANE 5 VA255 FLIGHT IS THE HIGHEST PERFORMING EVER LAUNCHED TO GEOSTATIONARY TRANSFER ORBIT

Press release

24.10.2021

For its 11th launch of the year, the second using Ariane 5, Arianespace orbited two geostationary satellites: SES-17, a telecommunications satellite operated by SES, and SYRACUSE 4A, a telecommunications satellite developed for the French Ministry of the Armed Forces. Thales Alenia Space manufactured both. For its 111th launch, Ariane 5 executed the highest performing flight by any launcher to geostationary transfer orbit: with two payloads on board, SES-17 and SYRACUSE 4A, with a total mass of 10264 kg, Ariane 5 achieves a world record for injection into this orbit. This launch also included a 1.5 m extension placed under the long fairing in order to adapt it to the specific needs of its two passengers.

On Sunday, October 24, at 02:10 UTC, Ariane 5 lifted off from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, successfully orbiting two satellites built by Thales Alenia Space: SES-17, a telecommunications satellite operated by SES, and SYRACUSE 4A, a telecommunications satellite developed for the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.

With this 111th mission, Ariane 5 broke the record for the cumulative net mass ever delivered to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) by a single launcher. With a total performance of 11.2 metric tons, the mass of the Ariane 5’s payloads reached 10,264 kg at separation (6,411 kg for SES-17 and 3853 kg for SYRACUSE 4A). For this mission, Ariane 5 also reached a height of 56.4 meters, thanks to a 1.5 m extension placed under the long fairing.

SES-17 and SYRACUSE 4A will be the 164th and 165th Thales Alenia Space satellites to be launched by Arianespace.

ArianeGroup is the prime contractor in charge of the development and production of the Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 launchers. It leads an industrial network comprising more than 600 companies, including 350 small and medium-size enterprises (SME). ArianeGroup oversees the entire Ariane 5 industrial supply chain, from design studies and upgrades to production and mission-specific data and software. The supply chain encompasses equipment and structures, manufacture of the propulsion systems, stage integration, then integration of the launcher in French Guiana. ArianeGroup delivers a flight-ready vehicle on the launch pad to its subsidiary Arianespace, which operates the flight starting with liftoff on behalf of its customers. 

Ariane 5 is a European Space Agency (ESA) program, conducted jointly by public institutions and industry. Ariane 5 launches are marketed and operated by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, with support from the French space agency CNES (Centre national d’études spatiales).

The launch took place on October 23, 2021, from the Ariane 5 launch complex in Kourou, French Guiana at 11:10 pm local time (02:10 UTC on Sunday, October 24).

  • 9:01 pm – 11:30 pm, in Washington DC, on October 23
  • 10:01 pm – 00:30, in Kourou, during the night from October 23 to 24
  • 01:01 – 03:30 UTC on October 24
  • 3:01 – 5:30 am, in Paris, on October 24
  • 10:01 am – 12:30 pm, in Tokyo, on October 24.