* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Turksat 3A

Blobrana · L

Yesterday evening, an Ariane 5 ECA launcher lifted off from Europe's Spaceport at Kourou, in French Guiana, on its mission to place two telecommunications satellites into geostationary transfer orbits.
Lift-off of flight V183 took place at 00:05 CEST/Paris on 13 June (22:05 UTC/GMT; 19:05 UTC-3/Kourou [12 June]). The satellites were accurately injected into the correct transfer orbits about 30 minutes later.

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Blobrana · L

Following the additional checks on the Ariane 5 launch vehicle, Arianespace has decided to restart the final countdown for its mission with the Skynet 5C and Turksat 3A satellites.
Liftoff of the Ariane 5 is now set for the night of Thursday, June 12 at the opening of the following launch window:

KOUROU: From 6:54 p.m. to 7:39 p.m. on June 12, 2008.
WASHINGTON: From 5:54 p.m. to 6:39 p.m. on June 12, 2008.
UTC: From 9:54 p.m. to 10:39 p.m. on June 12, 2008.
PARIS: From 11:54 p.m. to 00:39 a.m. on June 12/13, 2008.
ANKARA: From 00:54 a.m. to 01:39 a.m. on June 13, 2008.

Source Arianespace Press release

Blobrana · L

The Launch Readiness Review (RAL) took place in Kourou on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 and authorised count-down operations for the SKYNET 5C & TURKSAT 3A launch.
Arianespace will boost two satellites into orbit on its third launch of the year: the military communications satellite Skynet 5C for the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), and the civil communications satellite Turksat 3A for operator Turksat AS, as part of a turnkey contract with Thales Alenia Space.
It will be launched from the Ariane launch complex N° 3 (ELA3), in Kourou, French Guiana.
THE ARIANE 5 ECA Launcher lift-off for this flight is scheduled during the night of May 30 to 31, 2008 as soon as possible within the following launch window:

KOUROU: From 6:52 p.m. to 7:35 p.m. on May 30, 2008.
WASHINGTON: From 5:52 p.m. to 6:35 p.m. on May 30, 2008.
UTC: From 9:52 p.m. to 10:35 p.m. on May 30, 2008.
PARIS: From 11:52 p.m. to 00:35 a.m. on May 30/31, 2008.
ANKARA: From 00:52 a.m. to 01:35 a.m. on May 31, 2008.

Blobrana · L

Liftoff rescheduled for the night of May 30, 2008
In order to perform complementary checks on the Ariane 5 launch vehicle, Arianespace has rescheduled the launch of Skynet 5C and Turksat 3A from the original May 23 target date.

Liftoff of the Ariane 5 launcher is now set for the night of Friday, May 30, as early as possible in the following launch window:

From 9:52 p.m. to 10:35 p.m. on May 30, 2008 (UT)

Blobrana · L

Alcatel Alenia Space has announced that it has signed a turnkey contract with Turkish operator Turksat AS, for the construction and the in-orbit delivery of a new powerful telecommunication satellite, Turksat 3A. Alcatel Alenia Space has been Turksat's sole satellite provider with five satellites* awarded in more than 10 years.

The Turksat 3A satellite will enable Turksat to offer telecommunication services as well as direct TV broadcasting over Southern Europe, covering Turkey, Europe and Central Asia.

As prime contractor, Alcatel Alenia Space will be in charge of the satellite design, construction and test activities, all the way through in-orbit delivery, along with modernization of the ground segment.
Alcatel Alenia Space will also provide training assistance to Turksat.
Based on Alcatel Alenia Space Spacebus 4000B2, Turksat 3A will be fitted with 24 Ku-band transponders and will offer beginning of life power of about 8kW. Positioned at 42°E, Turksat 3A is due to start services at the beginning of 2008, replacing Turksat 1C.

Turksat 3A is the tenth Alcatel Alenia Space Spacebus 4000** satellite ordered, among which four*** have been successfully launched and delivered in orbit.

* Turksat 1A, 1B, 1C and 2A (Eurasiasat)
** Under construction: Chinasat 9, Chinasat 6B, Rascomstar-Qaf, Koreasat 5 and Syracuse 3B
*** Already launched: AMC-12, Apstar VI, Syracuse 3A and AMC-23

Alcatel Alenia Space was created in July 2005, and is an European leader in satellite systems. With sales of EURO 13.1 billion and 58,000 employees in 2005, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.

Alcatel presserlease