A satellite campaign starts with the arrival of the satellite in French Guiana.
Most satellites are ferried in by air and then transported to the Technical Centre, to the Satellite Preparation Facility (EPCU). All payloads are prepared in a set of buildings (S1, S2, ... S5) made available to customers for preparing their satellites for launching by ARIANE.
A satellite preparation campaign is divided into three phases :
- phase 1: satellite integration and inspection,
- phase 2: dangerous operations for preparing a satellite (filling with propellant),
- phase 3: Combined Operations Plan (POC) for the launcher and payload in the final assembly building (BAF)
For the most common case of a satellite campaign at EPCU S5: phases 1 and 2 are carried out in different parts of the S5 building.
The EPCU offers great flexibility for customer teams with respect to :
- the sizes of satellites,
- the volume of related equipment,
- the greatly varying number of people needed according to a particular mission,
- possible scheduling changes.
The EPCU S5, which has been in operation since 2001, has doubled the capability for satellite preparation. It offers almost 3,000 m2 of working space in an environment in which temperature, cleanness and hygrometry are regulated and also 1,200 m2 of office space for customers.
Arianespace and CNES / CSG are responsible for the satellites and their equipment once they have been unloaded.
Some operations at the EPCU S5 involve :
- cleaning the container
- checking pressurization of tanks
- deploying solar arrays
- conditioning batteries
- regulating electrical supply of panels
- final inspection
- loading of satellites in Containers.
The second part of the satellite campaign mainly consists in filling the satellites with propellant.
Before the satellites are transferred to the Launch Area, the final preparations are made and the payload container is brought to the final assembly building.
The 15 m long upper mast on the launch platform is integrated at the BAF and provides electrical and pneumatic circuits for the payloads.
For a dual launch, the two satellites (payloads) have been filled and are ready for to be encapsulated in the payload adapter, which is a component of the launcher.
Customer satellite teams are responsible for preparing and filling the satellites. From the moment the satellite is installed in the payload adapter, the responsibilities are transferred and the satellite becomes the responsibility of the Arianespace team. From then on, the satellite is part of the launcher campaign.
