The launcher lifted off at 18h30 (Kourou), 22h30 (Paris) after difficult meteorological conditions.
Athena-Fidus (Access on THeatres for European Nations Allied forces - French Italian Dual Use Satellite) is a French-Italian telecommunications satellite featuring the very latest broadband Internet technologies. Developed for CNES, the Italian space agency ASI, the French defence procurement agency DGA and the Italian Ministry of Defence, it will deliver telecommunications services to French and Italian military and civil protection forces, complementing capacity already provided by the Syracuse and SICRAL satellites.
ABS-2 is a telecommunications satellite that will enable the operator Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) to deliver telecommunications, television, multimedia and data transmission services to Asia, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
The launch
- Launch date: 6 February 2014
- Launcher version: Ariane 5 ECA
- Satellites: ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus
- Customers: ABS for ABS-2; Telespazio, on behalf of the French CNES and Italian ASI space agencies for Athena-Fidus
- Launch window: 17h30 - 19h35 (Kourou); 21h30 - 23h35 (Paris)
- Webcast start time: 17h15 (Kourou); 21h15 (Paris)
Previous launches videos
Preparations for flight in French Guiana
Photo report of the key phases of launcher and spacecraft preparations in Kourou.
