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ARIANESPACE FLIGHT 156

December 17: Success for New Skies Satellites

International telecommunications operator New Skies Satellites added
another satellite to its global constellation with tonight's 
successful Flight 156, which placed the NSS-6 spacecraft in 
geostationary transfer orbit.

Lifting off from the ELA-2 launch complex on at the Spaceport in 
French Guiana, the Ariane 4 released NSS-6 after approximately 21 
minutes of flight. The launch occurred at 8:04 p.m. (local time at the 
Spaceport) at the opening of a two-hour window, and New Skies 
Satellites reported that the first telemetry from the spacecraft was 
acquired at 9:06 p.m.

"This was a great launch, and New Skies Satellites confirms its 
confidence in Arianespace," said Dan Goldberg, New Skies' chief 
executive officer.

Flight 156 was the second Arianespace launch at the service of New 
Skies Satellites - a company that was spun off from Intelsat in 
November 1988.  Arianespace orbited the NSS-7 spacecraft in April on 
Flight 150, placing the first all-new spacecraft into orbit for New 
Skies Satellites.

Operating from an orbital position of 95 degrees East, the Lockheed
Martin-built NSS-6 will be capable of connecting more than 60% of the
world's population, especially in the broadcasting and business 
services sectors.

The A2100-AX platform weighed about 4,575 kg. at launch, and is to 
provide coverage of Asia, Australia, India, the Middle East and 
Southern Africa. The satellite features onboard switching, allowing it 
to assign up to 15 transponders to each region.

Flight 156 marked the conclusion of Arianespace launch activity in 
2002 -- a year in which 12 missions were conducted by the company.

Arianespace Chief Executive Officer Jean-Yves Le Gall said Arianespace 
is moving ahead with its launch planning for 2003, with the flight of 
a basic Ariane 5 version targeted for January 12 carrying Europe's 
Rosetta deep-space probe. This date will be confirmed based on 
findings of the inquiry board investigating the anomaly that occurred 
on last week's Flight 157. "We will continue to launch the basic 
Ariane 5, and will return the 10-ton Ariane 5 to service as soon as 
possible," Le Gall added.

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