Riding to space on this mission are three satellites: Galaxy-30, Mission Extension Vehicle-2, and BSAT-4B.

Galaxy-30

Built by Northrop Grumman, the Galaxy-30 satellite will provide multiple communications capabilities for everyday broadcast needs and broadband connectivity.

Galaxy-30 will launch with Mission Extension Vehicle 2 in the upper payload position and will ultimately reside in the 125 degrees West Geostationary location directly above the eastern-central Pacific Ocean.

Mission Extension Vehicle-2

What do you do if your satellite is running out of fuel but all its technology still works? Until now, you were out of luck.

Enter Mission Extension Vehicle 2 (MEV-2) from Northrop Grumman, which follows the first MEV that launched in October 2019 on a commercial Russian Proton rocket.

MEV-2 will ride with Galaxy-30 to orbit before moving on to rendezvous with Intelsat 10-02 in what is known as the Geostationary (GEO) graveyard.

The GEO graveyard is where defunct GEO communication satellites are moved at the end of their operational lives to make room for new satellites in the GEO belt.

After the rendezvous, MEV-2 will perform an automated capture and docking to Intelsat 10-02 before moving the satellite back down into the GEO belt for at least five years of additional operations.

Northrop Grumman believes a large market exists for MEVs of this kind, which provide additional power and propulsion capabilities to aging but still useful satellites in orbit.

Potential future applications of MEVs include the ability to rendezvous with and deorbit large pieces of space debris.

BSat-4B

Riding in the lower passenger position is the Japan Broadcast Satellite Corporation’s (B-SAT’s) and Maxar’s Space Systems/Loral satellite: BSat-4B.

The satellite has 24 transponders to service a variety of Direct-to-Home broadcast television needs in the 4K and 8K markets.

It will be used in 2021 to broadcast the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic games, which were delayed one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Image: An MEV seen before launch. Credit: Northrop Grumman)

Meet the European Space Agency's heavy-lift, workhorse rocket.

Ariane 5 is operated by Arianespace and carries a per launch price tag of approximately $168 million (USD). However, Arianespace offers ride-shares for two large payloads on the same mission.

Stats

Height: 46–52 m (151–171 ft)

Diameter: 5.4 m (18 ft)

Mass: 777,000 kg (1,713,000 lb)

Stages: 2

The two payloads ride one on top of the other, with the upper payload customer paying $101 million (USD) and the lower payload customer paying $67 million (USD).

This makes the price of an Ariane 5 launch competitive with other heavy-lift rockets from a "what the customer pays" perspective.

Ariane 5 debuted on June 4th, 1996, and has undergone five upgrades over the years.

Of those five variants, one remains in operation: the Ariane 5 ECA (Evolution Cryotechnique type A).

Over its service life, the rocket has launched hundreds of satellites as well as five cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station.

Arianespace and the European Space Agency are in the process of building Ariane 5's successor, Ariane 6, which will be more affordable than Ariane 5.

At this time, the rocket will fly until at least 2023.

Photo: An Ariane 5 lifts off from South America. Credit: Arianespace

ELA-3 (Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3) is a launch pad built specially for the Ariane 5 rocket - the European Space Agency's (ESA's) and Arianespace's heavy-lift workhorse.

Built in the mid-1990s, it was first used on June 4th, 1996, for the maiden launch of Ariane 5.

ELA-3 is located in the Guiana Space Centre (French: Centre Spatial Guyanais), a French and European spaceport located near Kourou in French Guiana near the northern tip of South America.

The space centre itself has been operational since 1968 and has hosted launches for the ESA, the French National Centre for Space Studies, and commercial companies Arianespace and Azercosmos.

A total of 9 different rockets types have launched from the Guiana Space Centre, including three active rockets and six retired vehicles.

The current rocket fleet at the space center is comprised of the Ariane 5 for heavy payloads, the Russian-provided Soyuz 2.1 for medium-mass payloads, and Vega for smaller satellites.