TAMPA, Fla. — Arianespace launched Europe’s most superior weather-tracking spacecraft Dec. 13 together with a pair of satellites Intelsat must clear C-band spectrum in the US.
The triple payload totaling practically 11,000 kilograms lifted off at 3:30 p.m. Jap from Kourou, French Guiana, on a heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket to geostationary switch orbit.
Intelsat’s Galaxy 35 and Galaxy 36 satellites separated from the rocket about half-hour later, adopted shortly by MTG-I1 for Eumetsat, Europe’s intergovernmental meteorological group.
The Maxar-built Galaxy 35 and Galaxy 36 are resulting from begin companies in March and February, respectively, after utilizing onboard propulsion to succeed in their last positions in geostationary orbit.
They’re the fifth and sixth of seven satellites Intelsat has ordered to assist clear C-band spectrum for terrestrial 5G companies.
The operator is in line for practically $5 billion in whole from the Federal Communications Fee if it clears the frequencies by Dec. 5, 2023, though rival operator SES continues to challenge its share of this windfall.
SpaceX launched the primary 4 satellites in Intelsat’s C-band clearing plan over two separate missions earlier this 12 months.
Intelsat 37, the ultimate satellite tv for pc on this spectrum-clearing technique, is slated to launch in June on a devoted SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Bettering climate forecasts
MTG-I1 is the primary of six satellites Thales Alenia House and OHB are constructing for Eumetsat’s MTG (Meteosat Third Technology) constellation, which is about to be deployed over the following few many years to enhance climate forecasts.
The satellite tv for pc carries Europe’s first instrument devoted to mapping lightning flashes for monitoring extreme storms and the way they evolve.
It additionally has a Versatile Mixed Imager designed for imaging Europe and Africa each 10 minutes throughout 16 spectral channels.
Prime contractor Thales mentioned it will take MTG-I1 round 11 days to get into place for unfurling its antennas to start transferring climate information again to Earth.
The MTG constellation contains 4 imaging (MTG-I) and two (MTG-S) sounding satellites which might be an identical of their collection.
The MTG-I satellites additionally carry two smaller payloads to gather information from distant science and search and rescue emergency beacons.
Phil Evans, Eumetsat’s director common, detailed the group’s long-term constellation deployment plans in an interview with SpaceNews final 12 months.
Arianespace mentioned it has now launched 14 satellites for Eumetsat and 64 for Intelsat.
The corporate has two extra Ariane 5s remaining earlier than the arrival of Europe’s delayed next-generation Ariane 6 rocket, which is at the moment slated to debut in 2023.
