Ariane 5 rolls out on eve of launch

BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: February 5, 2014

Towed along dual rail tracks, an Ariane 5 rocket moved from an assembly building to the launch pad in French Guiana on Wednesday for the European booster's first flight of the year.

Two communications satellites sit atop the 166-foot-tall rocket: ABS 2 for Asia Broadcast Satellite and Athena-Fidus for the French and Italian governments.

Liftoff of the Ariane 5 is set for 2030 GMT (3:30 p.m. EST) at the opening of window lasting 2 hours, 5 minutes. It will mark the first launch of the year from the European-run Guiana Space Center, a rocket base on the northern coast of South America.

It will take about a half-hour to deliver the ABS 2 and Athena-Fidus payloads into geostationary transfer orbit.

See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.

Photo credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace - Photo Optique Video du CSG - L. Mira

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