Arianespace is scheduled to launch two satellites tomorrow from Kourou in French Guiana. YahSat-1A, owned by Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi sovereign investment fund, and Intelsat New Dawn, a satellite owned jointly by Intelsat and an African investment group, make up the rocket’s cargo.

YahSat-1A will be positioned at 52.5 degrees East to supply extra DTH satellite capacity for the Middle East and Africa. The satellite carries 14 C-band transponders and 25 Ku-band transponders. The Ku-band transponders are being marketed by SES Astra.

Intelsat’s New Dawn craft will be positioned at 33 degrees East, and its 28 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders will handle the growing demand for connectivity into and out from Africa, including wireless backhaul, broadband and TV programming.

The launch can be watched live at http://www.videocorner.tv/index.htm

Launch window timings are:

Kourou time: 6.45-7.52pm on March 30

Universal time: 9.45-10.52pm March 30

Paris time: 11.45pm-0.52am March 30-31

Washington time: 5.45-6.52pm March 30

Other posts by Chris Forrester:

1. Musk: ‘Problems with some Starlinks’
2. Busy two weeks for SpaceX
3. Virgin Orbit’s collapse
4. SpaceX: “We can boost launch capacity”
5. Kuiper: More details emerge
6. OneWeb gives up on stolen satellites
7. SES vs Intelsat: Appeal hearing March 20
8. Water could power satellite in orbit
9. Greenerwave’s ‘intelligent mirrors’ for satellites

Categories: Blogs, Inside Satellite