Latest Mission Update from Arianespace:
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http://www.arianespace.com/site/news/news_sub_missionupdate_index.html
The go-ahead is given for Arianespace's heavy-lift Ariane 5 mission
The upcoming Ariane 5 heavy-lift mission was given its go-ahead for a Saturday liftoff following the launch readiness review held today at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
This review is regular milestone for all Arianespace mission campaigns, and it validated the launch readiness of the Ariane 5 ECA, its dual-satellite payload of Spaceway 2 and Telkom 2, as well as the Spaceport's launch infrastructure and the down-range tracking stations.
Liftoff of the Ariane 5 is set for a 45-minute launch window that opens at 8:45 p.m. (local time at the Spaceport) on November 12. (23h45 GMT; 7:45 p.m. in Washington, D.C.; and 00:45 a.m. on November 13 in Paris, France).
The mission's Boeing-built Spaceway 2 payload will be used by DIRECTV to bring local high-definition programming to most of the U.S. population, as well as expand its standard-definition local offerings. The Telkom 2 satellite carried by Ariane 5 is an Orbital Sciences Corporation STAR 2 spacecraft platform, and it will enable Indonesia's PT Telkom to expand its satellite communications coverage area into the ASEAN region and the Indian subcontinent.