ARIANE 5 IS “GO” FOR ITS MARCH 26 LIFTOFF

Today’s launch readiness review (March 24) has cleared Arianespace’s initial Ariane 5 mission of 2010 for a liftoff on Friday. Ariane 5 is now ready for its transfer from the Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch complex tomorrow. The final countdown will then begin, leading to the liftoff during a launch window on March 26 that opens at 7:03 p.m. local time, and continues to 7:52 p.m. (22h03-22h52 UTC). This heavy-lift flight will orbit SES ASTRA’s ASTRA 3B commercial telecommunications satellite and Germany’s COMSATBw-2 secure military relay platform.