An Ariane rocket successfully delivered two Thales Alenia-manufactured satellites into orbit on May 4th. The two were carried in a dual launch by Arianespace. They had been badly delayed by a month-long strike in French Guiana which affected all work at the spaceport.

Brazil’s SGDC is a dual (civil-military) satellite for the customer Visiona, a joint venture of aircraft manufacturer Embraer and Brazil’s telecommunications operator, Telebras. “It will provide sovereign and safe means for the strategic communications of the government and the defence and reduce the digital divide in Brazil by giving internet access to the whole country. This programme reflects the close collaboration between Thales Alenia Space and Brazil, which includes the training of 30 Brazilian engineers in space industry techniques,” said a statement.







KOREASAT-7 was launched for the South Korean telecom/media service provider KT Sat. The satellite will provide Internet access, multimedia, DTH broadcasting and fixed communications services for South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia and India. The KOREASAT-5A satellite is now being tested and integrated by Thales Alenia Space and will later join KTSAT’s fleet. This particular craft is the 3rd launched for Koreasat by Arianespace.