Ariane flight VA243

Ariane flight VA243 is an Ariane 5 space launch of two geostationary satellites that occurred on 25 September 2018 at 22:38:00 UTC from the Guiana Space Centre. It was the 100th launch of Ariane 5 (the 4th in 2018), and the 300th Arianespace mission (the 6th in 2018).

Ariane flight VA243

Official poster for the flight
Ariane 5 ECA launch
Launch	25 September 2018, 22:38:00 UTC
Operator	Arianespace
Pad	Kourou ELA-3
Payload	Azerspace-2 Horizons-3e
Outcome	Success
Components
Serial no.	5103
Ariane launches

Payload

The launcher was carrying 2 geostationary telecommunications satellites, with a total payload mass of approximately 10,827 kilograms (23,869 lb). The satellites were accommodated inside the long version of the upper stage fairing on the SYLDA adapter.[1]

Horizons-3e

Horizons-3e, also known as IS-H3e, was built in the United States by Boeing for Horizons Satellite, a joint venture of Intelsat and SKY Perfect JSAT. It had a liftoff mass of about 6,441 kilograms (14,200 lb) and will be operated from the 169° East position.

It is Boeing's 56th, Intelsat's 60th and SKY Perfect JSAT's 20th spacecraft to be launched by Arianespace.[1][2]

Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38

Azerspace-2, also known as Intelsat 38, was built by SSL in the United States for Azercosmos and Intelsat. It had a liftoff mass of about 3,500 kilograms (7,700 lb).[1]

Azerbaijan’s 2nd geostationary satellite will be expanding Azerspace-1's capacity while replacing Intelsat 12 from the 45° East position. It is SSL's 65th and Intelsat's 61st spacecraft to be launched by Arianespace.[2]

Mission description

Launch date

The 6th Arianespace launch of 2018 took place on 25 September 2018 at 22:38:00 UTC (19:38:00 local time) from Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) in Kourou, French Guiana.[3][4] It took place after launch VA244 after being postponed due to the unavailability of the GSAT-11 satellite, initially foreseen on board the flight.

Orbit

The mission was planned to last 42 minutes and 17 seconds, placing the both satellites into geostationary transfer orbits with a perigee altitude of about 250 kilometres (160 mi) and apogee of 35,726 kilometres (22,199 mi) and an inclination of about 6 degrees.[1][3][4]

References

1. "VA243 Launch Kit" (PDF). Arianespace. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
2. "100th Ariane 5 launch a success, orbiting two satellites for Intelsat, SKY Perfect JSAT and Azercosmos". Arianespace. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
3. "Flight VA243: The 100th Ariane 5 will carry Horizons 3e and Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 for Intelsat, SKY Perfect JSAT and Azercosmos". Arianespace. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
4. "VA243 – LA 100e Ariane 5 embarquera les satellites Horizons 3e et Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 pour les opérateurs Intelsat, SKY Perfect JSAT et Azercosmos" (PDF). Arianespace (in French). 18 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.