A nearly 180-foot-tall (54.8-meter) Ariane 5 rocket rolled out of its integration hangar to the ELA-3 launch zone Wednesday at the Guiana Space Center in South America, moving into position for liftoff Thursday with two geostationary communications satellites.
The Eutelsat Konnect and GSAT 30 satellites, owned by Paris-based Eutelsat and the Indian Space Research Organization, are fastened to the top of the Ariane 5 launcher inside the rocket’s Swiss-made payload fairing.
The Ariane 5’s 107th mission is set for liftoff during a launch window opening at 4:05 p.m. EST (2105 GMT; 6:05 p.m. French Guiana time) Wednesday.
These images show the Ariane 5’s departure from the final assembly building at the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on a mobile launch table pulled by a Titan tug. The trip on trail tracks extends about 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) to the ELA-3 launch zone.
Read our Mission Status Center for details on the mission and live coverage of the launch.
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