Rolling out under partly cloudy skies, the Ariane 5 was transferred today from its Final Assembly Building to the ELA 3 launch zone at the Spaceport.  This clears the way for final systems checks and fueling, leading to a November 26 liftoff during a launch window that opens at 3:39 p.m. and continues to 6:54 p.m. (local time in French Guiana).

The mission’s Intelsat 17 payload was produced by Space Systems/Loral based on the company’s LS 1300 Omega satellite bus, and will be positioned at an orbital slot of 66 deg. East after its deployment by Ariane 5.  Its C- and Ku-band capacity, combined with and multi-continental coverage, will offer programmers distribution over a region that extends across Asia and into Europe and Africa.  This is the latest in a long series of Arianespace launches for Intelsat, the leading provider of fixed satellite services worldwide.

HYLAS 1 is the first satellite for London-based Avanti Communications, which sells satellite broadband services to telecommunications companies for the supply to residential, enterprise and institutional users.  Designed and built by EADS Astrium in partnership with the Indian Space Research Organisation, HYLAS 1 will bring high-speed broadband services to remote rural areas across Europe.  The flexibility of its payload enables Avanti Communications to change the bandwidth of its 8 Ka-band beams while in orbit at a position of 33.5 deg. West, maximizing the satellite’s efficiency.

Tomorrow’s mission will be the 198th mission of an Ariane family vehicle, and the fifth Ariane 5 flight in 2010.

To support Arianespace’s sustained launch pace, it is one of three Ariane 5s currently at the Spaceport.  The second vehicle is in the Launcher Integration Building where it was built up for Ariane’s 199th flight, and is now ready to move to the Final Assembly Building – which was opened by the 198th Ariane launcher’s rollout for tomorrow’s mission.  Flight 199 will orbit the Hispasat 1E and KOREASAT 6 satellites on a mission planned before year-end.

Elements for the third Ariane 5 are ready at the Spaceport, and will be moved into the Launcher Integration Building once this facility is vacated by the vehicle for Ariane flight 199.  The milestone 200th launch with this Ariane 5 is set for February 15, 2011 to orbit the second Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for servicing the International Space Station.