Intelsat 33e – Spaceflight Now

Intelsat satellite in service after overcoming engine trouble

January 30, 2017 Stephen Clark

An Intelsat communications satellite launched last August entered service Sunday, about three months later than planned after a main engine problem forced engineers to position the craft in geostationary orbit using backup low-thrust rocket jets.

Missile warning satellite launch slips into 2017 due to thruster concerns

September 26, 2016 Justin Ray

An Air Force missile detection spacecraft will, effectively, lose its position in the Atlas 5 rocket’s cramped manifest over the next few months after the flight-worthiness of a thruster on the satellite was called into question and delayed its Oct. 3 liftoff date.

Photos: Ariane 5 lights up the night in French Guiana

August 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket ignited its hydrogen-fueled Vulcain 2 main engine and two solid rocket boosters to send two Intelsat communications satellite into orbit this week, casting a brilliant glow across its launch base carved from the jungle of French Guiana.

Intelsat celebrates double success with Ariane 5 launch

August 24, 2016 Stephen Clark

Two U.S.-built Intelsat communications satellites destined for different missions fired into space from French Guiana just after sunset Wednesday, vaulting due east over the Atlantic Ocean before separating from their Ariane 5 launcher right on target in geostationary transfer orbit.

Launch timeline for the Ariane 5 rocket’s 87th flight

August 24, 2016 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket will fire into the sky from French Guiana just after sunset Wednesday and deliver nearly 12 tons of payload to an orbit reaching 22,000 miles up less than a half-hour later.

Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off with two Intelsat satellites

August 24, 2016 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket sent two Intelsat communications satellites into orbit Wednesday after liftoff from Europe’s space base in French Guiana at 2216 GMT (6:16 p.m. EDT; 7:16 p.m. local time).

Photos: A drive around the Ariane 5 launch pad

August 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

Take a trip around the perimeter of the Ariane 5 rocket’s launch zone in Kourou, French Guiana, where two Intelsat communications satellites are poised for liftoff Wednesday.

Photos: European rocket treks to launch pad with U.S. satellites

August 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

Two U.S.-built commercial communications satellites moved to their last stop on Earth on Tuesday, when an Ariane 5 rocket rolled out to a launch pad at the edge of the Amazon jungle on the eve of liftoff.

Photos: Ariane 5 hitched to tug for rollout to the launch pad

August 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

A day before blastoff with two Intelsat communications satellites, an Ariane 5 rocket rolled into position on its launch pad in French Guiana on Tuesday behind a 540-horsepower Titan truck, and these close-up snapshots show technicians preparing for the journey.

Ariane 5 go for launch with all-American payload

August 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

Launch managers in French Guiana on Monday approved plans to loft two U.S.-built communications for Intelsat aboard an Ariane 5 rocket Wednesday.