Fueling of Flight 129’s Ariane 4 began on schedule Monday morning as final preparations for tomorrow night’s liftoff continue without a hitch.
The UH25 and N204 propellant is being pumped into the launch vehicle’s first and second stages, as well as in the two liquid strap-on boosters. The fueling process will continue into tonight.
With all aspects of the launch campaign on schedule, the French Guiana weather also seems to be cooperating.
Arianespace Mission Director Didier Cass¿ said the heavy rains that have swept the region have now stopped, and the short-term forecast is predicting a “green” for weather conditions at liftoff time tomorrow.
Payload for this mission is PanAmSat’s Galaxy IVR satellite, which carries 28 Ku-band and 28 C-band transponders for digital TV network, Internet and data traffic.
Once in orbit, the satellite will be positioned at an orbital location of 99 deg. West longitude for its 15-year operating lifetime.
Liftoff is planned for tomorrow at 9:29 p.m. local Kourou time, marking Arianespace’s third Ariane 4 mission of 2000. The company also has conducted one Ariane 5 flight so far this year.
Flight 129 will carry the 16th PanAmSat satellite to be orbited by Ariane launchers.
