Ariane flight VA245
| Company type | Space launch mission |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | October 20, 2018 |
| Headquarters | Kourou , French Guiana |
| Products | Launch services (BepiColombo spacecraft deployment) |
Ariane Flight VA245 represented both an Ariane 5 launch and an Arianespace mission, executed on 20 October 2018 from the Guiana Space Centre. This operation successfully deployed the BepiColombo spacecraft, marking a pivotal achievement in interplanetary exploration.
Payload
The mission's payload consisted of the BepiColombo spacecraft, with an overall mass near , inclusive of its adapter.
BepiColombo
The BepiColombo spacecraft had a launch mass close to , comprising three principal elements that remained connected throughout launch and cruise phases en route to Mercury: the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio). These components were enclosed within the extended upper stage payload fairing.
This collaborative mission by the ESA and JAXA marks Europe's inaugural expedition to Mercury. The European segments (MTM and MPO) were engineered and manufactured by Airbus at its Friedrichshafen site, coordinating a consortium of 83 firms across 16 nations. The Japanese contribution (Mio) was created by JAXA's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science. The launch signified Airbus's milestone, ESA's mission, and Arianespace's satellite deployment, including their venture into deep space.
Launch date
This event was Arianespace's seventh launch in 2018, taking place on 20 October 2018 at 01:45:28 UTC (19 October 2018 at 22:45:28 local time) from Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3) located in Kourou, French Guiana.
Pre-flight activities
The spacecraft elements arrived at French Guiana between April 24 and May 9. Testing of the Mercury Transfer Module's (MTM) two solar arrays, capable of producing up to 11.2 kW, occurred at the SC5 facilities within the Guiana Space Centre. Integration of the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) onto the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) was completed between August 20 and 21. Subsequently, both units were mounted onto the MTM between September 19 and 20, finalizing BepiColombo. Assembly with its payload adapter was done on October 4, followed by integration into the launch vehicle on October 9 and encapsulation within the fairing on October 11. The launch readiness review was conducted on October 17 in Kourou to approve final procedures.
Orbit
The flight duration until separation lasted 26 minutes and 47 seconds, inserting BepiColombo into a transfer orbit toward Mercury with a hyperbolic escape velocity near 3.475 km/s and an inclination around -3.8 degrees. The spacecraft is anticipated to enter orbit around Mercury approximately on 5 December 2025 after a seven-year cruise involving several flybys of Earth, Venus, and Mercury.
External links
- Presskit for Ariane Flight VA245 by Arianespace