Arabsat-5C launches from French Guiana

Arabsat-5C was safely launched by Arianespace from Kourou aboard an Ariane 5 on the evening of 21 September. The satellite was built by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space for satcom operator Arabsat, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Astrium supplied the Eurostar E3000 platform and handled satellite integration, while Thales Alenia Space supplied the payload.

Once positioned at its 20 degree East geostationary orbital location, Arabsat-5C will deliver capacity in both the C- and Ka-bands for a range of communications services.

Fitted with 26 active channels in C-band and wide-band transponders over 10 spots in Ka-band, Arabsat 5C will also provide TV broadcast services for the Middle East and North Africa with a design life exceeding 15 years.

The original launch date had to be put back a day due to a strike by the Trade Union of French Guiana Workers (UTG), which would have caused telecommunications problems for Arianespace.

Arabsat-5C shared the launcher with SES-2, which will be utilised by Europe’s SES.