Satmex 6 and Thaicom 5 are fueled for their upcoming Ariane 5 heavy-lift launch

[Analoguesat]

The two payloads to be orbited by Arianespace's next record-setting Ariane 5 ECA mission have been filled with their on-board propellant at the Spaceport in French Guiana.

The fueling took place in the state-of-the-art S5 satellite preparation facility, where both telecommunications spacecraft are continuing their final check-out for the May 26 liftoff.

The Thaicom 5 satellite is loaded with Monomethylhydrazine (MMH) fuel in the S5 facility's 400-sq.-meter S5B hall. Thaicom 5 was built by Alcatel Alenia Space, and is based on the European manufacturer's Spacebus satellite design. This relay platform will be operated by Thailand's Shin Satellite Public Company Limited for Ku-band and C-band telecommunications and television services throughout the Asia/Pacific region, and is to be located at an orbital position of 78.5 degrees East.

With a liftoff mass of approximately 2,800 kg. at launch, Thaicom 5 will be the smaller of the two satellite payloads carried by Ariane 5 on its upcoming heavy-lift mission. The three-axis stabilized spacecraft is to provide capacity enabling Shin Satellite to retire its Thaicom 1 and Thaicom 2 satellites, which were launched by Arianespace in 1993 and 1994, respectively. Arianespace also orbited Shin Satellite's Thaicom 1 spacecraft in 1997, and an Ariane 5 lofted the heavyweight THAICOM 4 (IPSTAR) telecommunications platform in August 2005 with a record mass of 6,485 kg.