Kourou, 14 September 2011 – Scheduled for launch on 20 September, the Arabsat 5C satellite, for which Astrium is co-prime, has been fully fuelled and integrated with the Ariane 5 launch vehicle at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Astrium, the number one company in Europe for space technologies, is also the industrial prime contractor for the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. The company coordinates the activities of around 60 companies across Europe, to deliver a fully integrated and tested launcher to Arianespace. The Ariane 5 ECA new-generation, high-power, dual launch vehicle can place satellites up to 10 tonnes into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

Astrium and Thales Alenia Space (TAS) are jointly responsible for building Arabsat 5C and delivering it in orbit. Astrium, the leading partner, supplied the Eurostar E3000 platform and then assembled and tested the spacecraft. TAS designed and built the communications payload featuring 26 active channels in C-band and wide band transponders over 10 spots in Ka-band. The team also upgraded the ground control segment for the extended Arabsat satellite fleet. The Launch and Early Orbit Phase will be conducted from the Astrium spacecraft control centre in Toulouse.

Arabsat 5C, a multi-mission satellite, will provide satellite capacity in both C-band and Ka-band frequencies at the Arabsat position 20°E for a wide range of satellite communications services. Based on Astrium’s highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform, Arabsat 5C has a launch mass of 4630 kg and a spacecraft power of 10kW at the end of its 15-year designed lifetime.

About Astrium

Astrium is the number one company in Europe for space technologies and a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services.

In 2010, Astrium had a turnover of €5 billion and more than 15,000 employees worldwide, mainly in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment, and Astrium Services for comprehensive end-to-end solutions covering secure and commercial satcoms and networks, high security satellite communications equipment, bespoke geo-information and navigation services worldwide.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2010, the Group – comprising Airbus, Astrium, Cassidian and Eurocopter – generated revenues of € 45.8 billion and employed a workforce of nearly 122,000.

Press contacts:

Daniel Mosely (Astrium UK)                                                      Tel.: +44 (0)1 438 77 8180

Gregory Gavroy (Astrium FR)                                                    Tel.: +33 (0) 1 77 75 80 32

Ralph Heinrich (Astrium GER)                                                   Tel.: +49 (0) 89 607 33971

Francisco Lechón (Astrium SP)                                                 Tel.: +34 91 586 37 41

www.astrium.eads.net