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Lift-off: Arianespace launches Astra 5B, Amazonas 4A

Launch of satellites for SES, Hispasat marks 59 consecutive take-offs for Ariane 5

Arianespace has successfully launched the Astra 5B and Amazonas 4A satellites for SES and Hispasat, respectively. The satellites were launched aboard the Ariane 5 launch vehicle from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, making 59 consecutive successful launches of the Ariane 5.

Built by Airbus Defence and Space Systems, Astra 5 will extend SES’ transponder capacity and geographical reach for direct-to-home, direct-to-cable and contribution feeds to digital terrestrial TV networks over Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The satellite also carries the second SES hosted L-band payload for the European Commission’s European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), which will help verify, improve and report on the reliability and accuracy of positioning signals in Europe.