Arianespace's VA225, carrying the Eutelsat 8 West B and Intelsat 34 satellites, lifted off today at 5:34 pm (local time) from the Guiana Space Center
Arianespace’s VA225, carrying the Eutelsat 8 West B and Intelsat 34 satellites, lifted off today at 5:34 pm (local time) from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Eutelsat 8 West B is the 30th satellite orbited by Arianespace for Eutelsat, the leading satcom operator in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, and number 3 worldwide in terms of revenues. Arianespace currently has three more satellites in its order book to be launched for Eutelsat.
Intelsat 34 is the 55th satellite orbited by Arianespace for Intelsat, the world leader in fixed satellite services in terms of revenues and in-orbit capacity. Arianespace has four more Intelsat satellites in its backlog of launch orders.
Shortly after the announcement that the two satellites had been injected into orbit, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Stéphane Israël said: “Arianespace is very proud of our successful dual launch this evening for the two leading commercial customers of our heavy launcher, Ariane 5. I would like to thank Intelsat and Eutelsat for their unwavering trust and loyalty over more than 30 years.
“I would also like to thank all our partners who contributed to this seventh launch of the year, the 67th successful launch in a row for Ariane 5: ESA, prime contractor for the Ariane program; all European companies who contribute to Ariane under the direction of industrial prime Airbus Safran Launchers; CNES-CSG and companies at the launch base, who have provided constant support for all our successes; and of course the men and women of Arianespace, whose commitment and professionalism underpin our goal of setting a new record for the total number of launches in 2015,” said Israël
