An Ariane 5 rocket will launch two new communications satellites for Saudi Arabia and India today (Feb. 5), and you can watch the liftoff live online!
The Ariane 5, provided by the European launch company Arianespace, will lift off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana during a 61-minute launch window that opens at 4:01 p.m. EST (2101 GMT). A live webcast with commentary from Arianespace will begin approximately 20 minutes before then.
You can watch the launch live here on Space.com, courtesy of Arianespace, or you can stream it directly from Arianespace's YouTube channel, which offers both English and French versions of the webcast.
An Ariane 5 rocket stands on the launchpad at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, on Feb. 4, 2019. The rocket is scheduled to launch two communications satellites for Saudi Arabia and India on Feb. 5. Arianespace
Two new telecommunications satellites will hitch a ride to orbit inside the rocket's payload fairing. One of the satellites carries two payloads -- the Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1 (SGS-1) and Hellas Sat 4 (HS-4) -- on what is known as a "condosat," or a satellite platform that can support a combination of payloads.
The SGS-1/HS-4 combo "will provide telecommunications capabilities, including television, Internet, telephone and secure communications in the Middle East, South Africa and Europe," Arianespace officials said in a description of the mission.
Also launching on today's mission is GSAT-31, a geosynchronous telecommunications satellite built by the Indian Space Research Organization. "By operating GSAT-31, ISRO will - once again - foster the use of space to help bridge the digital divide in the Indian subcontinent as part of its ambitious space program, whose objectives are to develop India while pursuing science research and planetary exploration," Arianespace officials said.
> Payload integration is complete for #Arianespace's year-opening #Ariane 5 flight. Read the #VA247 Mission Update: https://t.co/oWMtqlsqh0 pic.twitter.com/dEuDjNh92t
>
> -- Arianespace (@Arianespace) January 31, 2019
Both satellites, SGS-1/HS-4 and GSAT-31, are designed to last at least 15 years in their geostationary orbits, where they will continuously "hover" above the same part of the globe.
Today's launch will be the first launch of 2019 for Arianespace and the 103rd launch of an Ariane 5 rocket.
Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Original article on Space.com.
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