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World's biggest satellite blasts off into space courtesy of Ariane 5
There was a rumble in the jungle yesterday as the TerreStar-1 satellite set off on its one-way trip into space from a launch pad in French Guyana. After storms delayed blast-off, the 7.6-ton behemoth finally went up, hitching a lift aboard euro rocket Ariane 5 at 17:52 GMT. You can see it kiss the sky in a video after the jump.
The mighty space bird is the mothership parent satellite of the new $700 Terrestar satellite phone, which yesterday had its own, somewhat less stellar, launch back on Earth.
TerreStar-1 should be put into action in around a week's time, when its 60-foot reflector umbrella is unfurled in a procedure that should take around four hours. Once up and running, expect the satellite and its super-slimline handsets to change the worlds of drug-running, drug-busting, terrorism and counterterrorism. Forever.
Via BBC News
By Mr. Gumsandals at 10:12 AM ON 07/02/09
Pretty freaking amazing. Leave it to the French to figure out a cheaper way of getting into space. Their landing and taking off from runways for commercial civie space flight is the way to go and we shoud be seeing them pull it off very shortly. Maybe if NASA didn't have unlimited bucks in the beginning to fund its space efforts, the US would be the leader in civie space flight. Although I'm all for the Virgin Galactic approach via Ruttan's genius, I still think the French with their EADS Astrium design will get their first and with even less effort.
By iori at 11:36 PM ON 07/02/09
Umm, they used the same way everyone does..
By ToddD. at 4:06 PM ON 07/18/09
Nice story
ToddDiroberto
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ToddD.:
Nice story ToddDiroberto ...More »