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ArianespaceLaunch SuccessfulCommunicationsAriane 42L
Launched 1998-12-22 01:08 UTCAriane Launch Area 2, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
Success
Reached Geostationary Orbit
Worldwide
80th
orbital launch attempt in 1998
Arianespace
10th
launch this year
Ariane Launch Area 2
10th
launch from this pad this year
Pad turnaround
16 d
since the pad's previous launch
In March 1998, Hughes Space and Communications Company of El Segundo, Calif., was selected by PanAmSat Corporation of Greenwich, Conn., to build PAS-6B, a Hughes HS-601HP spacecraft model to provide direct-to-home television transmissions in South America. The satellite was launched Dec. 21, 1998.
Arianespace SA is a multinational company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane programme. Their vehicles launch exclusively from French Guiana in South America.
Launches
328
Successful
313
95%
Upcoming
51
scheduled
Height
55.6m
Diameter
3.8m
To low Earth orbit
7,000kg
Liftoff thrust
4,600kN
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