Ariane 5 puts the new Amazonas 4A and Astra 5B satellites into orbit

The Amazonas 4A will expand, from the orbital position of 61 degrees West, the offer of audiovisual services throughout South America, from Venezuela and Colombia to Argentina and Chile.

An Ariane 5 launched on Saturday from the European Space Agency (ESA) center in Kurú, French Guiana, placed two new satellites into orbit: Hispasat 4A and Astra 5B. The original launch was going to be on November 6, but it had to be postponed to carry out “complementary verifications” to ensure the reliability of the device in space.

The Amazonas 4A, the eleventh satellite that the Hispasat group has put into orbit and the eighth launched by the French company Arianespace, has a launch mass of about three tons, about 23 meters in wingspan and 4.7 meters in height. It has 24 Ku band transponders, two deployed antennas and three-axis altitude control that ensure great precision.

The Amazonas 4A will expand, from the orbital position of 61 degrees West, the offer of audiovisual services throughout South America, from Venezuela and Colombia to Argentina and Chile.

Built by the American company Orbital Sciences Corporation (ORB), based in Dulles (state of Virginia), it has a useful life of at least 15 years.

“This satellite will greatly improve signal distribution and coverage of the next World Cup in Brazil and the Olympic Games (in Rio de Janeiro) two years later,” explained the director of Hispasat satellite missions, Antonio Abad.

The Amazonas 4A will also increase the provision of high-speed Internet on the South American continent.

For its part, the new Astra 5B will increase the capacity and geographical reach of the SES operator, and will cover a large part of Eastern Europe, including Russia, in a position 31.5 degrees East. This is the 56th satellite that SES places in orbit and the 39th that goes into space with the European rocket, managed by Arianespace.