Arianespace's 5th Ariane 5 of 2008 is Authorized for Launch

(August 12, 2008) -- The fifth heavy-lift Ariane 5 mission of 2008 has been cleared for this week's liftoff with its payload of two international Ku-band telecommunications satellites, maintaining the accelerated pace for Arianespace's workhorse commercial launch vehicle.

Approval for the August 14 flight was given following today's launch readiness review at the Spaceport in French Guiana - which validated the status of Ariane 5, its payloads of Superbird-7 and AMC-21, the launch infrastructure at Europe's Spaceport, and the network of downrange tracking stations.

This clears the way for tomorrow's transfer of Ariane 5 from its Final Assembly Building to the Spaceport's ELA-3 launch zone, enabling the liftoff on Thursday during a launch window that opens at 5:44 p.m. and continues to 6:35 p.m., local time in French Guiana.

Source : Arianespace

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