Astra and Amazonas flight date confirmed
February 25, 2014
By Chris Forrester
French rocket company Arianspace says that it will launch the delayed Amazonas-4A and Astra 5B satellites on March 21st. The two satellites were originally expected to launch on December 6th last year, and then delayed to March 7th.
The giant Ariane 5ECA is scheduled to lift off in the late afternoon of March 21st with a launch window of 22:05 – 23:15 GMT.
Amazonas 4A will go to 61 deg West, and carries 24 transponders and serve the fast-growingf market for video services in Latin America.
Astra 5B will be placed at 31.5 deg East and significantly expand capacity into Central and Eastern Europe. The EADS/Astrium built satellite also carries a payload from the European Union’s European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) which helps provide Europe’s version of the USA’s GPS navigation system.