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Arianespace Flight 156: NSS-6 Successfully Launched for New Skies 
Satellites N.V.

Kourou, French Guiana, December 17, 2002 - Arianespace tonight 
successfully orbited the NSS-6 satellite for international operator 
New Skies Satellites N.V.

Less than a week after Flight 157, the flawless orbital injection of 
NSS-6 fully demonstrated Arianespace's capability to ensure launch 
service continuity for its customers.

Second successful mission for New Skies Satellites N.V.
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Tonight's Flight 156 marked the second time that New Skies Satellites 
has relied on Arianespace for commercial launch services since the 
satellite company's founding in 1998. New Skies Satellites is one of 
four fixed satellite operators in the world that offers true global 
satellite coverage, and its NSS-7 satellite was orbited by Arianespace 
on April 17, 2002 (Flight 150).

Built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, NSS-6 is capable of
connecting more than 60% of the world's population, especially in the
broadcasting and business services sectors.

Weighing about 4,575 kg. at launch, it will be positioned at 95 
degrees East to provide coverage of Asia, Australia, India, the Middle 
East and Southern Africa. NSS-6 features onboard switching, which 
means it can assign up to 15 transponders to each region. This high 
degree of coverage flexibility will enable New Skies to adapt to 
changing market requirements.

Flight 156 at a glance: 73rd consecutive success for Ariane 4
Flight 156 was carried out by an Ariane 44L - the Ariane 4 launcher 
version equipped with four liquid-propellant strap-on boosters - from 
Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Liftoff was on December 
17, 2002 at 8:04 p.m. local time in Kourou (23H04 Universal Time, 6:04 
p.m. in Washington, DC, and on December 18 at 0:04 a.m. in Paris).

Provisional parameters at third-stage injection were:
Perigee: 199.4 km for a target of 199.7 km. (+-3 km.)
Apogee: 35,904 km for a target of 35,955 km. (+-150 km.)
Inclination: 6.99 degrees for a target of 6.99 degrees (+-0.06 deg.)

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