Syracuse 3A is a powerful communication satellite for the French Ministry of Defence. Galaxy 15 is a PanAmSat telecommunications satellite operating at 133 degrees West, used to provide communications to North America.
At the time of the failure of the first Ariane 5 ECA flight in 2002, all Ariane 5 launchers in production were ECA versions. Some of the ECA cores were modified to use the original Vulcain engine and tank volumes while the failure was investigated; these vehicles were designated Ariane 5 GS. The GS used the improved EAP boosters of the ECA variant and the improved EPS of the G+ variant, but the increased mass of the modified ECA core compared to the G and G+ core resulted in slightly reduced payload capacity. Ariane 5 GS could carry a single payload of 6,600 kg (14,600 lb) or a dual payload of 5,800 kg (12,800 lb) to GTO. The Ariane 5 GS flew 6 times from 2005 to 2009 with no failures.
ArianeGroup (formerly Airbus Safran Launchers) is an aerospace company based in France. A joint venture between Airbus and Safran, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux. It consists of three core arms: aerospace, defence and security.
INFO WIKIIntelsat said the Galaxy 15 broadcast satellite that stopped responding to commands earlier this month shut down its payload Aug. 31, reducing the risk of interfering with signals from other spacecraft.
Intelsat said Aug. 19 it has lost control of its Galaxy 15 broadcast satellite after it was likely hit by a geomagnetic storm.