KOUROU, FRENCH GUIANA - The Ariane 5 rocket scored its 31st consecutive success today with the launc of TerreStar-1, the world's heaviest commercial satellite, for North American operator TerreStar Networks Inc. The launch ocurred at 1:52 p.m. EDT from the European Spaceport in French Guiana. Lifting off from the ELA-3 launch zone on a rare afternoon departure, the Ariane 5 deployed TerreStar-1 into geostationary transfer orbit 26 minutes later.
FREE VIDEO: ARIANE 5 LIFTS OFF WITH TERRESTAR-1 TerreStar-1 was the only primary payload on the heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA, and follows Ariane's most recent flight by less than two months. Weighing nearly 6,910 kg at launch, TerreStar-1 is the largest commercial communications satellite ever launched. It will be positioned at 111 degrees West, offering new-generation mobile communications services across the entire United States and Canada. 
(Photo Credit: CNES / Arianespace) Le Gall thanked TerreStar Networks Inc. for its confidence, noting this is the 29th new satellite company to have relied on Arianespace for the launch of an initial spacecraft. TerreStar Networks Inc. is Arianespace's 29th new client and TerreStar-1 is the 34th satellite constructed by Space Systems Loral to be launched by Arianespace. TerreStar-1 will be located at an orbital position of 111 deg. West, offering new-generation mobile communications services across the United States and Canada. It was produced at Space Systems/Loral's Palo Alto, California facility, and was the 34th spacecraft built by this U.S. satellite manufacturer to be launched by Arianespace. Operating in the 2-GHz spectrum with an 18-meter deployable reflector and powerful S-band feed array, TerreStar-1 will be able to manage some 500 spot beams. It will be positioned at 111 degrees West, offering new-generation mobile communications services across the entire United States and Canada. It is designed to supply secure communications services to governments in emergency situations, as well as to rural communities. The satellite also will provide voice, data and video transmission services to businesses via dual satellite/ground terminals approximately the size of a typical smart phone. In post-launch comments from the Spaceport's control center, TerreStar Networks President Jeffrey Epstein showed the type of handheld device that will function with the company's communications network and the TerreStar-1 satellite. He also expressed the excitement of experiencing the Ariane 5's launch first-hand. "We are deeply appreciative of Arianespace's efforts," Epstein said. "What we just witnessed is the culmination of millions of hours of advanced technology in satellite deployment here, and it's truly remarkable to watch." At the completion of today's mission, Arianespace's Le Gall announced that Ariane 5's next launch is set for mid-August, carrying a dual-satellite payload for two Asia-Pacific customers: JCSAT-12 for Japan's SKY Perfect JSAT Corp.; and Australia's Optus D3. Le Gall said Arianespace remains on track to perform seven Ariane 5 flights during 2009. The Ariane 5 ECA for its upcoming mid-August mission has completed the initial build-up in the Spaceport's Launcher Integration Building. This vehicle will now be readied for transfer to the Final Assembly Building – which opened up yesterday morning after the Ariane 5 with TerreStar-1 moved out to the launch zone. Arianespace's ability to prepare two Ariane 5s in parallel at the Spaceport is a key to its flexibility and reactivity – which is further enhanced by the heavy-lift workhorse's ability to orbit two primary satellite payloads on a single flight. The three Ariane 5 missions performed so far in 2009 have lofted a total of seven spacecraft with a combined payload mass of nearly 19,600 kg. Arianespace's first flight of the year was on February 12, orbiting the HOT BIRD™ 10 and NSS-9 commercial telecommunications satellites, along with two Spirale auxiliary passengers for the French defense procurement agency. This was followed by the May 14 launch of Europe's Herschel and Planck deep space telescopes, which were placed on Earth escape trajectories for their 1.5 million km. voyages to the second Lagrange point (L2).
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