Cayene – April 28, 1998 – The 108th Ariane rocket blasted off from French Guiana on Tuesday evening carrying direct broadcast satellites for Egypt and Japan. Launch was at 18.53 EDT from the European Space Agency’s launch centre in Kourou on South America’s northeast coast.
The NILESAT 101 satellite, Egypt’s first national satellite, is designed for direct-to-home television and radio broadcasting throughout the Middle East, the Mediterranean area and North Africa.
The 1.8 tonne satellite, expected to operate in space for 16 years, was built by France’s Matra Marconi Space (CGEP.PA), a joint venture of Britain’s General Electric Co Plc and France’s Lagadarere Groupe.
Also aboard the rocket was BSAT-1b a 1.2 tonne satellite for Tokyo-based Broadcasting Satellite System Corp. It will transmit direct-to-home television to over 10 million homes in Japan. BSAT-1b was built by Hughes Space & Communications in Los Angeles, a General Motors unit, and is expected to operate for 12 years.
An Ariane 44P rocket equipped with four solid strap-on boosters was used for Tuesday’s mission, the fourth of 12 scheduled Ariane rocket launches this year. Paris-based Arianespace said it had orders for 41 satellites
to be launched, worth an estimated $3.5 billion. The world market for commercial space services — rockets, satellites and ground stations — was estimated to have exceeded $30 billion last year and is expected to double by 2000.
