Few pictures of the launch

1-

2-

3-

4-

5-

6-

7-

8-

 9-

10- Boosters separation

All pictures: Credits: Shaf

VA207 main Flight events

Here under, the main VA207 mission events are summarised:

• T 0 Reference time
• T+1 sec, EPC (Etage Propulsion Cryogénique/ Main Cryogenic Stage) ignition
• T+7,05 sec, EAP1&2 (Etage d'Accéleration à poudre/Solid Booster 1 and 2) ignition
• T+ 7,5 sec Lift-off
• T+2 min 30 sec, EAP jettison
• T+3 min 30 sec, Fairing jettison
• T+9 min EPC jettison and ESC-A (Etage Superieur à poudre/Upper Cryogenic Engine A ignition
• T+ 25 min, ESC-A cut-off command
• T+28 min Echostar-XVII separation command
• T+34 min MSG-3 separation command

Credits Arianespace: from Ariane 5 User Manual

Launch Day 05/07/2012

Follow MSG-3 launch live on ESA, Eumetsat or Arianespace websites.

07:15 am @ EPCU S5C North (Kourou time).  D - Day has started.
Let's start this message with an Arianespace picture taken yesterday (04/07/2012): the Launch vehicle on the ELA-3 Launch pad

Credits: Arianespace

09:36 am (L-9 hours) All Thales people in place at LBC-1. Countdown started. Spacecraft ON
An overall view of the LBC

A nice view on the launcher from the water tower (TV monitor in LBC-1)

11:24 am (L-7h 12mn). LBC-1 to Jupiter: MSG-3 status nominal
In the meantime, our mascot, Toco, joined the LBC-1...

12:26 (L-6h 10min). MSG-3 RF (Radio Frequency) Transmitter ON. On the background below the "RF corner" with Jean-Paul and Patrick (on the right). On the foreground all the Telemetry monitoring screens

13:25 (L-5h 11nin) All parameters are green. Few minutes later, 2 weather forecast reports: High winds and general weather forecast briefing. Green. Authorisation to fuel the Launch vehicle has been given.

14:21 (L-4h 15 min). MSG-3 started battery charging.
14:28 (L-4h 08 min). EPC (Etage de Propulsion Cryogénique/Cryogenic Propulsion Stage) fuelling started
15:08 (L-3h 28 min) ESC (Etage Supérieur Cryogénique/Upper Cryogenic stage) fuelling
15:31 (L-3h 05 min ) MSG-3  reported parameters from LBC-1 to Jupiter are green

16:36 (L-2h 00 min) MSG-3 spacecraft status is green. Here under, a snapshot of the Launch vehicle from the TV monitor in LBC-1. Weather looks fine.

17:11 (L-1h 25mn) : Jean Claude giving the Spacecraft status to CPS (Chef de Projet Satellite/Head of Satellite Project) in Jupiter: MSG-3 status Green

ca 17:15 "Ratissage" at EPCU i.e. All unauthorised personnel is kindly asked to leave the EPCU S5 for safety reasons.
Hugues our RMCU (Responsble Moyen Charge Utile/Payload Responsible) at EPCU during the campaign is carefully checking the list of names.

17:36 (L-1 hour). MSG-3 status is green. All other launch parameters are green. The clock below gives the UT (Universal Time) and the exact L -1 hour of the chronology...

18:16 (L-20 min) MSG-3 has been turned to internal power.
18:25 (L-11 min), RPS confirms to CPS Jupiter that MSG-3 status is green.
18:29 (L-7 minutes) start of the synchronised sequence of the launcher.
18:36 Lift-off
VA 207 pass over the EPCU

L+34 minutes MSG-3 separated from the launcher: Mission is declared successful!
It is time to celebrate this outstanding team work. This campaign was a great human and technical experience and all will certainly create long life memories.
Here below the LBC-1 team.

Now all will join the party with the the rest of the team in Jupiter and all other guests of the Arianespace party :-)

MSG-3 on launch pad

1-On 03/07/2102 the VA 207 roll out started with roughly 1 hour and half delay due to the presence of some heavy clouds in the area of the transfer.
The distance between BAF and ELA-3 (Launch pad) is about 3 kilometers and the maximum speed of the convoy is 3 km/h.

2-The roll out was observed from the roof of the Galilee building. On the foreground the BIL (Batiment Intégration Lanceur/Launcher Integration Building) and just behind the BAF which is now familiar to the reader of the blog :-)

3-Roll out eventually started at 11:50 am (Kourou time). Here below VA 207 launcher between BIL and BAF.

4-Convoy crossing the main CSG road which had been closed to other traffic.

5- VA 207 convoy through the forest.

6-...getting closer to the ELA-3 launch pad.

7- Preparing for the last curve.

8- 13:25. VA 207 has almost reached the launch pad.

View again VA 206 roll out (taken within another angle of view at orchidée observation point).

Que le spectacle commence!

This morning, 03/7/2012 at 7:00 am  the doors of the BAF have been opened.

a close up view:

VA 207 is ready for the roll out to ELA-3 (Aire de Lancement#3 /Launch Pad#3)... if weather allows. The requirement is to have three hours free of thunderstorms to prevent the risk of lightening during the transfer (BAF to ELA-3).

From BIL to BAF

Today 30/05/12 a significant event took place: The transfer of the Ariane 5 ECA from BIL (Batiment d'Integration Lanceur/ Launcher Assembly Building) to BAF (Batiment d'Assemblage Final/Final Assembly Building). This launcher transfer is a pure Arianespace activity.
On the wide angle overview below, you see the stage: BIL on the right and BAF on the left.

Between these two facilities, one dedicated to launcher integration and the other to assemble the payload(s) on the rocket, you may witness the shortest rail trip in French Guyana (ca one kilometer TBC). There is, if we are correct, no other commissioned rail tracks in this country.
The departure from BIL took place at ca 12:15 Kourou Time.

At that stage the rocket is mounted with the two solid boosters (EAP) filled with propellant. The central tank will be filled with liquid hydrogen and oxygen once on the launch pad (ELA-3). For safety reasons, the speed is kept extremely slow in particular in the curve or on the railroad switches (below 5km/h TBC).

On the picture below, a closer view on the Ariane 5 ECA rocket (to be used for the next VA207 flight). The rocket stands  on the launch table rolling on the straight "high speed" section of the journey.

As showed below, the convoy is not made only of the launch table and the rocket. Few cars on the front provide all what the launcher needs for the transport: Traction, Energy, Air conditioning...

Another perspective of the rocket en route from BIL to BAF taken form CDL-3 (Centre De Lancement 3).

Approaching the BAF...

It is ca 14:00 (Kourou Time), after 45 minutes across the CSG the "Kourou Express" reached the BAF  its final destination, the master station can go for lunch :-)

As you have certainly noticed, the launcher is still missing an essential part: the upper composite made of the payload covered by the fairing. In ca 30 minutes the curtain of this high tower will fall. A rather confidential play will then carry on inside the BAF with a limited number of  people. The theater curtain will open again one day before launch for the roll out to ELA-3.
Stay with us, we'll be there. Even if at the moment we don't have a launch date yet, MSG-3 has a launcher!

Successfull VA206 launch

On 15/05/2011 at 19:13 sharp, Ariane 5 successfully lifted off the 2 Asian spacecrafts Vinasat-2 (Vietnam) and JCSAT-13 (Japan). Those two telecommunication satellites were manufactured by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space System.
This is obviously an important date as far as this success clears up the way for the next Ariane 5 launch: VA207 for Ecchostar-17 and... MSG-3.

MSG teams followed live the VA206 launch from various sites: the beach near by Hotel des Roches or Jupiter, Agami and Toucan which are three controlled CSG observation sites.
This was really an impressive launch.
Here after are displayed few pictures shot from the Toucan observation point of view...

Visit of the ELS

The Soyuz launch complex called ELS (for Ensemble de Lancement Soyuz) is one of the three active commercial launch pads at CSG together with the Vega launch pad and the ELA-3 (Ensemble de Lancement Ariane #3).  ELS was visited by the MSG teams on Monday 30/04/12.
The Soyuz rocket (family) is deeply related to the early age of the Soviet space adventure which started in the sixties. This is to date the most used launch vehicle in the world. Soyuz rockets are launched from Baikonur (Kazakhstan/Russia), Plesetsk (Russia) and, since 21 October 2011, from CSG ELS in Kourou French Guiana. The payload was then a pair of Galileo satellites. The main difference with a Soyuz rocket operated in Russia is that, at the CSG ELS, the payload is integrated vertically on the rocket whilst in Russia, the rocket and payload are assembled horizontally and then erected once on the launch pad. This difference may give a chance for MSG-4 to be launched on a Soyuz rocket in 2015. On the top of that, energy wise, the CSG quasi equatorial location benefits a lot for Soyuz GEO (geostationary) launches compared to the other Russian cosmodromes.

General view on the Soyuz launch pad.

Close up view on the arms supporting the Soyuz rocket.














View from top to bottom.

Bottom up view.

View on breeching (carneau).

Visit to Vega launch pad

The Vega rocket is the smallest launcher used by Arianespace. It is jointly developed by the Italian Space Agency and ESA and used for payloads ranging from 300 up 2500 kg. The VEGA maiden qualification flight took place on 13th February 2012.
MSG teams were invited to visit the launch pad which is now in preparation for the next flight planned for 2013.

Overall view on Vega launch pad complex: Assembly building (left), water tower (middle), four lightning rods and the thin white mast to which the rocket is connected via umbilical harnesses.






A view onto the assembly building (moving forth and back). It is rolled back few hours before the launch to prevent damages.

 A view inside the assembly building.












Note that during take off, stones were ripped off the concrete structure of the launch table by the flames of the P80 engine.  Few stones were projected meters away and have damaged the front door of the assembly building. One is still there to show the strength of these projections.

 A nice view on the empty launch pad.