OREANDA-NEWS.  ArianeSpace consortium has informed of the 54th successful launch of Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou in French Guiana.

According to the consortium, on 7 February (8 February, Baku time) the missile carrier placed into orbit two communications satellites - Amazonas-3 for Spanish operator Hispasat and Azerspace/Africasat-1a for Azerbaijani operator Azercosmos (JSC) and the Ministry of Communications & Information Technologies of Azerbaijan.

The consortium reports that Azerspace/Africasat-1a satellite was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation using a Star-2platform and has weight of 3,000 kg at launch. The satellite is equipped with 24 C-band transponders and 12 Ku-band transponders. It will provide a wide range of telecommunications services for Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“Azerspace/Africasat-1a is the 24th satellite built by Orbital Sciences Corporation to be launched by Arianespace,” it was informed.

Only by September the satellite will find the final position in orbit and will be ready to provide a full range of services for which it is designed.