Thor 7’s installation atop the Ariane 5’s SYLDA dispenser system. Photo: Arianespace

[Via Satellite 04-06-2015] Arianespace is preparing Telenor Satellite Broadcasting’s Thor 7 satellite and the joint French-Italian Sicral 2 satellite for an upcoming dual launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. The company recently encapsulated the Thor 7 satellite, built by SSL, which will take the upper position in the rocket. The Sicral 2 satellite will deploy second from the lower position on Ariane 5’s central core.

Telenor’s new satellite targets customers in the maritime sector, providing coverage of the Norwegian Sea, the Red Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean in Ka band, as well as broadcasting customers in Central and Eastern Europe with a Ku-band payload. The military communications satellite Sicral 2, built by Thales Alenia Space Italy through a turnkey contract between the Italian Defense Ministry and the French DGA armament agency (Direction Générale de l’Armement) provides capacity for French and Italian armed forces, along with reserve capacity for other NATO nations.

The April 15 mission will be Arianespace’s third this year, following the Vega launch of Europe’s Intermediate Experimental Vehicle (IXV) spaceplane and the Soyuz launch of two European Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Galileo satellites.