THE SIXTH ARIANE 5 OF 2008 IS CLEARED FOR LIFTOFF

Arianespace’s year-end flight has been given the go-ahead following its launch readiness review, which was conducted today at the Spaceport. This review validated the readiness of Ariane 5, its dual satellite payload of HOT BIRD 9 and W2M, the infrastructure at Europe’s Spaceport and the network of downrange tracking stations.