On Thursday, the Ariane 5 ECA rocket launched two telecommunications satellites, one Brazilian, the other South Korean, it was announced Thursday evening by Arianespace in French Guiana. This is the company's fourth success for the year. A little more than 28 minutes after take-off on Thursday, Ariane 5 ECA separated from the SGDC satellite (Geostationary Satellite of Defense and Strategic Communications) of the Brazilian operator Telebras SA, with a mass of 5 tons and 735 kg at take-off, and then the KOREASAT-7 satellite of the Korean ktsat operator, with a mass of 3 tonnes and 680 kg at take-off.
Ariane 5 ECA was delayed shortly before 18:51 local (23:51 in Belgium), 1:20 after what had been planned as the best launch schedule.
The launch from Kourou was originally scheduled for March 21 but was postponed indefinitely due to a large-scale social movement in Guyana and in particular because of a barricade erected by demonstrators a few hundred meters from the space center. Access to the center was allowed on April 22, after more than a month of blockages.
The Brussels Times
