[Satellite TODAY 08-24-11] Arianespace has fueled its next dual-passenger Ariane 5 rocket in preparation of its Sept. 9 launch of Arabsat’s Arabsat-5C communications satellite from the European Spacesport in French Guiana, Arianespace announced Aug. 23.

            Arabsat-5C, built by EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, will now be integrated with the Ariane 5 rocket’s payload stack along with co-passenger SES-2 for SES World Skies. Arabsat-5C’s communications payload was designed and built with both C- and Ka-band transponders to operate and provide relay service from the 20 degrees East orbital slot.

            The SES-2 satellite, built by Orbital Sciences Corp., also arrived in French Guiana and was transported to the spaceport’s payload preparation facilities.

SES-2 is a hybrid C- and Ku-band spacecraft that will serve North America with 36 MHz of transponder capacity each for its relay duties. SES-2 also carries the Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) for the U.S. Air Force, which integrates a wide field of view sensor in the satellite.