Watch the Launch

Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Ariane Flight VA259

Arianespace’s fourth launch of 2022 with the third Ariane 5 of the year will place its satellite passengers into geostationary transfer orbit. The launcher will be carrying a total payload of approximately 10,972 kg.

Galaxy 35 & 36, MTG-I1

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Geostationary Transfer Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Geostationary Transfer Orbit Ariane Launch Area 3 Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Galaxy 35, 36 are two geostationary communications satellites operated by Intelsat. MTG-I1 is the first of EUMETSAT's third generation of weather satellite.

Updates

SwGustav • Dec. 13, 2022, 9:52 p.m.

Successful deployment and signal acquisition from MTG-I1 and both Galaxy satellites (https://twitter.com/INTELSAT/status/1602782247207272449)


Nosu • Dec. 13, 2022, 8:30 p.m.

Liftoff


Nosu • Dec. 13, 2022, 8:05 p.m.

Live coverage has started


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 9, 2022, 6:10 p.m.

Refined launch window.


Nosu • Dec. 7, 2022, 12:47 p.m.

Setting GO


Ariane 5 ECA+

Family:
Configuration: ECA+

Ariane 5 ECA+ is a variant of the Ariane 5 heavy-lift vehicle, with a taller ECA-D upper stage.

Specifications
  • Max Stage
    2
  • Length
    57.7 m
  • Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.4 m
  • Launch Mass
    780.0 T
  • Thrust
    11400.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Ariane 5 ECA+
  • Family
  • Variant
    ECA+
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Ariane 5 ECA+
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    10200.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

ArianeGroup

ArianeGroup

(AG)

CEO: Christophe Bruneau Founded: 2015 Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

ArianeGroup (formerly Airbus Safran Launchers) is an aerospace company based in France. A joint venture between Airbus and Safran, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux. It consists of three core arms: aerospace, defence and security.

INFO WIKI
Spaceflight Now

First in new generation of European weather satellites ready for launch

The first in a new generation of European weather satellites is set for launch Tuesday on a mission that promises to improve the timeliness and precision of weather forecasts for Europe and Africa, sharing a ride to space from French Guian…

SpaceNews

Ariane 5 launches triple satellite mission to geostationary transfer orbit

Arianespace launched Europe’s most advanced weather-tracking spacecraft Dec. 13 along with a pair of satellites Intelsat needs to clear C-band spectrum in the United States.

Spaceflight Now

Ariane 5 rocket launches new European Meteosat satellite, two Intelsat comsats

A European Ariane 5 rocket fired off a launching stand Tuesday in tropical South America with the vanguard of a modernized series of weather satellites to improve storm forecasts for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and two Intelsat te…

NASASpaceflight

Arianespace launches three spacecraft, Intelsat talks satellite refresh efforts

Arianespace has successfully lifted three satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) on Tuesday from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana using the veteran Ariane 5 launcher.

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Ariane Launch Area 3


Long March 2D
Success
3 hours, 1 minute ago
PIESAT-2 13-16
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.


Electron
Success
10 hours, 29 minutes ago
Owl By The Dozen (StriX Launch 12)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
1 day, 21 hours ago
Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Satellite serial number and Cosmos designation not confirmed. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite n…


Kuaizhou 11
Success
2 days, 11 hours ago
SpaceTY-51 & 52
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

2 Earth observation radar satellites built by the Chinese satellite manufacturer SpaceTY.


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 12 hours ago
USSF-259
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

USSF-259 is a classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield …


Long March 12
Success
2 days, 13 hours ago
SatNet LEO Group 25
Commercial LC-2 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
3 days ago
Progress MS-35 (96P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Gravity-1
Success
3 days, 15 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #16
Yellow Sea (launch location 5) - Haiyang Oriental Spaceport

9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with …


Zhuque-2E Block 2
Success
4 days, 7 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #15
Launch Area 96A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

10 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Vega-C
Success
4 days, 12 hours ago
Sentinel-3C & FLEX
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Sentinel-3C is the third satellite in the Sentinel-3 constellation, which provides high-accuracy optical, radar and altimetry data for marine and lan…