ARIANE 5 CLEARS INITIAL BUILD-UP PHASE FOR FIFTH FLIGHT OF 2009

Initial assembly is complete for the fifth Ariane 5 to be launched this year, as preparations continue for another of Arianespace’s trademark dual-satellite payload missions. This heavy-lift Ariane 5 was fitted with its ESC-A upper stage and vehicle equipment bay – which were installed as a single unit – inside the Launcher Integration Building at Europe’s Spaceport.