Flight 228 is the 84th Ariane 5 launch and the first in 2016. The launch is planned on 28th Jan. 12:20am CET. It follows on from a series of 69 consecutive successful Ariane 5 launches.

This is an ARIANE 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A) launcher, the most powerful version in the ARIANE 5 range.

Flight 228 is a commercial mission for Ariane 5. The L583 launcher is the twenty-eighth to be delivered by Airbus Defence and Space to Arianespace as part of the PB production batch. The PB production contract was signed in March 2009 to guarantee continuity of the launch service after completion of the PA batch comprising 30 launchers.

The PB production batch comprises 35 A5ECA launchers and covers the period from 2010 to 2016. On 14th December 2013, it was extended by an order for a further 18 ECA launchers, scheduled for launch as of 2019. L583 is consequently the fifty-eighth complete launcher to be delivered to Arianespace, integrated and checked out under Airbus Defence and Space responsibility in the Launcher Integration Building (BIL).

In a single-payload configuration using a long pattern fairing (total height: 17 m), the launcher is carrying the telecommunications satellite Intelsat 29e.

Download Ariane 5 Flight 228 Launch Kit

> More about Ariane 5 (http://space-airbusds.com/en/thematic-list/?access-to-space)
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