Arianespace’s 250th launch success
November 27, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Arianespace has successfully orbited two geostationary satellites: TIBA-1, for Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space on behalf of the Government of Egypt; and GX5 for Inmarsat.
The launch took place on November 26th at 18:23 p.m. (local time) from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch also marks the 250th Ariane mission, a series that started with the first launch on December 24th 1979.
Following the launch, Arianespace Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Israël said: “Arianespace is very proud to have launched the 250th Ariane on our eighth mission of the year, for Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space on behalf of the Government of Egypt, and for a leading operator, Inmarsat, which has entrusted Ariane for 10 of its satellite launches. Over the past 40 years, the Ariane family has guaranteed both autonomous access to space for Europe and record availability for customers from around the world. Therefore, Arianespace fulfills its fundamental mission: to put space at the service of a better life on Earth. And the Ariane story will continue next year with the advent of Ariane 6, that perfectly addresses the evolving needs of our customers.”
TIBA-1 is a civil and government telecommunications satellite for Egypt developed by Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defense and Space as co-prime contractors. Thales Alenia Space is the consortium’s lead, and Airbus Defense and Space is the direct Arianespace customer for this mission. TIBA-1 will be owned and operated by the government of Egypt.
Inmarsat’s Global eXpress-5 marks the 10th time since 1981 that Inmarsat has chosen Arianespace.
Inmarsat GX5 is a mobile communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for Inmarsat. It will provide mobile services across the Middle East, Europe and the Indian sub-continent.
GX5 will deliver greater capacity than the entire existing GX fleet combined (GX1-GX4). A very high throughput satellite (VHTS), GX5 will address the rapid growth in customer demand for GX services in Europe and the Middle East, particularly for satellite Ka-band Wi-Fi services from the Global Xpress (GX) fleet.