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Flight 157
December 9: Go-ahead for the Wednesday evening liftoff
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Arianespace's first "10-ton" Ariane 5 is set for liftoff Wednesday 
evening following the launch readiness review held today at the 
Spaceport.

The review confirmed the launch infrastructure was ready for launch,
including Ariane 5's launch table - which had its chill-down igniters
replaced following the Nov. 28 countdown interruption.

Rollout of the Ariane 5 from its final assembly building to the launch 
zone will occur tomorrow, with filling of the cryogenic core stage and 
the new cryogenic upper stage to begin Wednesday morning.

Flight 157 will carry the HOT BIRDTM 7 TV broadcast satellite for 
Eutelsat, along with the French CNES space agency's STENTOR telecom 
technology demonstrator. HOT BIRDTM 7 is installed in the upper 
payload position and will be released first by the Ariane 5 during the 
49-minute-long mission, followed by STENTOR

The increased-lift Ariane 5 has a 10-metric ton payload capacity to
geostationary transfer orbit. This performance consolidates 
Arianespace's competitive position by providing the capability to pair 
up almost any combination of telecommunications satellites for 
efficient dual launches.

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