Tag Archives: sat-13

[VID] VS15 Launch campaign

Next a set of five videos describing the Arianespace Soyuz Flight VS15 is presented. Liftoff is scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, 2016 at 05:48:43 a.m. local time (French Guiana) / 04:48:43 a.m., Washington, D.C. / 08:48:43 a.m., UTC / 10:48:43 a.m., Central European Time / 11:48:43 p.m., Moscow

Jean-Pierre Barlet, Arianespace Launch Site Operations Manager

 

Jean-Cristophe Delaunay, Arianespace deputy Mission Director

 

Paul Verhoef, ESA Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation related Activites

 

Thierry Fahem, Galileo FOC-M5, Sat 13-14, Arianespace Programme Director

 

Arianespace mission personnel provides details on Soyuz’ nearly 4-hour flight sequence

 

ESA & CNES joint team

ESA & CNES joint teamThis week a unique, combined team of specialists are conducting final training at ESA’s ESOC mission control centre to prepare for the 24 May launch of Europe’s next Galileo satellites, a dual launch on a Soyuz rocket from Kourou.

The team comprises over 40 experts drawn from ESA and from France’s CNES space agency, supported by additional specialists at both agencies in areas such as flight dynamics and ground stations.

Within the combined flight control team, each position is paired with its counterpart from the other agency and mixed “CNESOC” shifts will rotate to conduct operations around the clock. Read more…

Launch 7. Payload integration begins

sat-13 integrated on its payload dispenser. Soyuz VS15The first of two Galileo navigation satellites to be orbited on Arianespace’s May 24 Soyuz flight has been integrated on its payload dispenser system, marking a key step as preparations advance for this medium-lift mission from French Guiana.

Named “Danielė”, the spacecraft was installed last week during activity inside the Spaceport’s S3B payload preparation facility. It is to be joined on the dispenser system by the mission’s other passenger, “Alizée”, whose own installation is forthcoming in a side-by-side arrangement.

The pair are then to be mated atop Soyuz’ Fregat upper stage and encapsulated in the protective payload fairing. Prime contractor OHB System in Bremen, Germany produced the satellites, and their onboard payloads are supplied by UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), which is 99-percent owned by Airbus Defence and Space. Read more…

Galileo 13 & 14 fueled

Galileo satellite 13 and 14 fueledPreparations for Arianespace’s upcoming mission have moved into the fueling phase for the two Galileo navigation satellites that will be orbited by a medium-lift Soyuz on 24 May from the Spaceport in French Guiana.

Technicians donned spacesuit-like protective outfits to handle the toxic hydrazine fuel that will enable the two satellites to fine-tune their orbits and orientation over the course of their working lives of 12 years or more.

The 13th Galileo satellite was fuelled on 3 May, with the 14th being fuelled a day later.

After fuelling both satellites have been connected to “checkout terminal equipment” to enable battery charging and atomic clock monitoring. Read more…

Two Galileos are “fit” for their Arianespace Soyuz launch in May

Soyuz_VS15_fit_checkThe next two spacecraft to join Europe’s Galileo global satellite navigation system have made their initial contact with launcher hardware at the Spaceport in French Guiana, continuing the preparations for their liftoff on an Arianespace Soyuz vehicle in May.

During activity in the Spaceport’s S1A clean room facility, both spacecraft completed the initial “fit check” process, in which they were installed on the dispenser system that will deploy them in orbit during the May 24 flight.

The two FOC (Full Operational Capability) Galileo satellites were then removed, enabling their continued preparation and fueling. Prime contractor OHB System in Bremen, Germany produces the Galileo FOC spacecraft. Read more…

Galileo 13 & 14 reached Europe’s spaceport

Galileo satellites 13 and 14 arriving at Europe's SpaceportThe latest pair of navigation satellites has reached Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, beginning a new Galileo launch campaign, which will culminate in a launch on 24 May.

The 13th and 14th Galileo satellites left ESA’s technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, on Monday, safely cocooned within protective air-conditioned containers.

They were taken by road to Luxembourg Airport, where they were loaded aboard a Boeing 747 cargo jet for a dawn takeoff the next morning.

The satellites touched down at Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport in French Guiana at 11:15 on Tuesday local time. Read more…