LAUNCH CENTER
Success
Sat Mar 02 1991
Arianespace
Astra 1B & Meteosat 5
Launch Successful
LAUNCH PREVIEW
Launch Time
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(11:36 PM UTC)
Launch Window Start
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(11:36 PM UTC)
Launch Window End
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(11:36 PM UTC)
RECOVERY OVERVIEW
Location
No Recovery Specified
Type
No Recovery Specified
Rocket Details
Name:
Ariane 44LPDescription:
The Ariane 4 was an expendable space launch system, developed by the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Arianespace. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the final flight on 15 February 2003, it attained 113 successful launches out of 116 total launches.
MISSION OVERVIEW
- Type: Communications
- Astra 1B was the second of the Astra communications satellites launched and operated by SES (Société Européenne des Satellites). It was believed to have been launched in a faulty condition, and suffered a thruster failure early in its life, causing minor drift, meaning that it became permanently difficult to obtain a steady lock on the satellite. This was most notable on analogue transmissions where the picture would move from clear to carrying sparklies and back again.
COMPLEX OVERVIEW
Location
Kourou, French Guiana
Pad
Ariane Launch Area 2