The Ariane 5 launcher successfully took off from the Guiana Space Center on Wednesday, September 7 at 6:45 p.m. local time, with the Eutelsat Konnect VHTS satellite on board, intended to provide high-speed Internet access throughout Europe.
“Eutelsat is one of our oldest customers, explains Stéphane Israël, the president of Arianespace, this is the 37th time that we have worked with them”
.
The satellite is intended to provide this high-speed Internet access, particularly in areas where coverage is weak.
The aim is to reduce the digital divide on the Old Continent and to offer a service comparable to fiber optic networks in terms of performance and cost.
The machine is bulky, since it weighs 6.4 tons and will be 8.8 meters high in its final configuration.
This makes it the largest satellite built by Thales Alenia Space.
Its lifespan is 15 years.
This launch is special.
Usually, Ariane 5 carries two telecommunications satellites.
But this one left alone, his co-passenger was not ready.
“It was important for Eutelsat to launch as quickly as possible
,” comments Stéphane Israël.
Rarely, the next launch should therefore carry three satellites.
Eutelsat Konnect VHTS will not be in operation before August 2023.
“It takes five months to climb into orbit, then a few months of testing
,” explains Eva Berneke, CEO of Eutelsat.
Three other launches before Ariane 6
Two years ago, a more modest satellite, called Konnect, was launched.
"It has a tenth of the power of VHTS, but it's starting to wear out
," says Eva Berneke,
"that's why it had to be launched quickly
. "
Shipping also took longer than expected.
Eutelsat Konnect VHTS was supposed to travel by plane, but with the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the appropriate devices were no longer available.
So he made the trip by boat, which lengthened the delay.
The satellite separated from the launcher 28 minutes after launch at an altitude of 3,804 kilometers.
This is one of the last launches of Ariane 5, three more are planned in the coming months before Ariane 6 takes over.
