The third Ariane 5 flight of 2011 has entered its final preparation phase with the ST-2 satellite’s installation on the launcher’s SYLDA dual-passenger dispenser system during activity at the Spaceport in French Guiana.
ST-2 will be positioned in the upper slot of the mission’s payload “stack,” joining its GSAT-8 co-passenger on Arianespace’s May 19 flight.
With a liftoff mass of 5,090-kg., ST-2 will be the second Mitsubishi Electric Corporation-built satellite orbited by Arianespace. It is to be utilized by the ST-2 Satellite Ventures joint company of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) and Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom Company Ltd. for Ku- and C-band relay services across the Middle East, Central Asia, India and Southeast Asia.