Ariane 5 rocket launch LIVE stream: Watch the Intelsat satellite launch live online here

An Ariane 5 rocket will launch tonight (August 6) with Airbus, Intelsat and European Space Agency (ESA) cargo onboard. The rocket launch marks the third flight fo the Ariane 5 this year – the signature launch vehicle of the Europe-based company Arianespace. The Ariane 5 will carry two communication satellites dubbed Intelsat 39 and EDRS-C respectively. The launch window opens tonight from 8.30pm to 10.51pm BST (9.30pm to 11.51pm CEST).

How to watch the Ariane 5 rocket launch live stream: 

You can watch the rocket launch in full tonight, courtesy of Arianespace. 

The rocket company will broadcast the event live from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. 

The live stream is embedded in the YouTube video player below. 

Watch the stream kick-off at 7.45pm BST (8.45pm CEST).

The mission is expected to last around 33 minutes and 31 seconds from liftoff to satellite separation.

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Arianespace announced: “Liftoff is planned on Tuesday, August 6, 2019, as early as possible within the following launch window:

“Between 3.30pm and 5.51pm Washington DC time. 

“Between 4.30 pm and 6.51pm Kourou, French Guiana time.

“Between 7.30pm and 9.51pm Universal Time (UTC).

“Between 9.30pm and 11.51pm Paris time.”

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What is the cargo for the Ariane 5 launch tonight? 

Two communication satellites will blast off into space tonight from French Guiana. 

The first is an Intelsat 39, which is the 61st satellite launched for Intelsat by Arianespace. 

Arianespace first began launching these satellites for Intelsat in 1983. 

Tonight’s launch will replace an Intelsat 902 satellite that was launched into space in 2001. 

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Arianespace said: “The Intelsat 39 telecommunication satellite is designed with both wide and high-powered steerable spot beams to meet the needs of broadband networking, video and government customers across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Indian Ocean region. 

“The steerable spot beams provide flexibility within the payload and enable customers to rapidly and efficiently respond to shifts in geographic or application requirements.” 

The satellite is designed to beam internet services and mobile networks to ground. 

The Intelsat was built in Palo Alto, California, by the company Maxar. 

The second satellite, the EDRS-C, will join the SpaceDataHighway network. 

The SpaceDataHighway is touted as the world’s first “optical fibre” network up in the skies. 

Based on “cutting-edge laser technology”, the SpaceDataHighway is a network of geostationary satellites capable of transmitting data at fast speeds. 

The satellite will aid in disaster response, security management and environmental monitoring.

Arianespace said: “The SpaceDataHighway system will relay larger volumes of image data in a secure way.

“From its position in geostationary orbit, the SpaceDataHighway system relays data collected by observation satellites to Earth in near-real-time, a process that would normally take several hours. 

“It thus enables the quantity of image and video data transmitted by observation satellites to be tripled and their mission plan to be reprogrammed at any time and in just a few minutes.” 

The SpaceDataHighway is being launched in partnership between Airbus and the European Space Agency 9ESA). 

source: express.co.uk