Ariane 5 Successfully Launches Satellites for Japan and South Korea, watch the video here!
The launch happened in Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana. The launch occurred at the opening of a 62-minute launch window at 22:18 UTC.
What are they for
The Ariane 5 rocket was built by the European manufacturers, Arianespace. The JCSAT-17 communications satellite that's riding on top of the rocket is for "flexible, high-bandwidth communications to users in Japan and the surrounding region," said officials of Arianespace's statement. The satellite is owned by the Tokyo-based company Sky Perfect JSAT.
The other payload is the Earth-imaging satellite GEO-Kompsat-2B, in which this will monitor and observe the planet's oceans and other environmental factors to feed data for weather forecasts and other scientists that need the data. Operated and owned by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the satellite is going to work in line with the GEO-Kompsat-2A, which launched back in 2018.
The Rocket in Question
The juggernaut of the European rockets out there, Ariane 5 is the current version of the Ariane rocket and has been flying since 1996 with 107 missions under its belt which is astonishing, to say the least. Unique among the rocket industry, Ariane 5's launch countdown actually reaches zero before its liquid-fueled core stage engine, Vulcain 2, is ignited on the pad for 6.3 seconds of time to ramp up to full thrust and undergo health checkouts.
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Expected Outcome
"I am thrilled to announce that JCSAT-17 and GEO-Kompsat 2B have been injected as planned into their targeted orbit," Luce Fabreguettes, Arianespace's executive vice president of missions, operations and purchasing, said in a post-launch news conference, adding that the rocket performed "flawlessly."
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What Came Before and What Now
Arianespace previously launched its predecessor satellite intro orbit, called the GEO-Kompsat 2A, way back in 2018. This satellite was made to monitor space weather and how the way solar particles from the sun influence magnetic activity around the planet. GEO-Kompsat 2B will focus on the Earth itself.
The rocket manufacturers Arianespace will be turning 40 years old already this year, which has a variety of different rockets. Ariane 5 which is the rocket used for heavy-lifting satellites to geostationary transfer orbit, where their satellites can then proceed to geostationary orbit.
From geostationary orbit, this is where they stay in motion above the same part of the world. Arianespace also uses the Soyuz 2 for medium-lift payloads and the Vega for smaller ones.
Arianespace is working on newer rockets dubbed Ariane 6 and Vega C, which will be coined as "rideshares" to bring satellites into space.
More and more flights are coming soon and expect that Arianespace and other rocket manufacturers are going to get their hands busy for the advancement of the world and humankind.
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