Tiba-1 satellite to be launched Monday after 2-day delay

CAIRO – 25 November 2019:Egypt’s first telecommunications satellite, Ariane 5 with TIBA-1 and Inmarsat GX5, will be launched on Monday at 11 p.m. after a delay of two days for technical issues.

"Arianespace has decided to stop the final operation for two days,” Stephane Israel, chief executive officer of Arianespace, said in a statement late on Friday. “The spacecrafts are in safe mode and we are now targeting a new launch window and we will keep you posted for sure,” he added.

TIBA-1 – which is based on the Eurostar 3000 satellite platform and was developed by Thales Alenia Space & Airbus Defence and Space – occupies the larger upper portion of the Ariane 5 payload fairing, and will be released first during the launch.

"TIBA-1 was designed with a lifetime of over 15 years on orbit. The satellite will be the fourth spacecraft launched by Arianespace for Egypt, the 127th Airbus satellite launched by Arianespace, and the 160th launch by the company for Thales Alenia Space,"Nasa added.

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced in a statement that the launcher and its two satellite passengers – TIBA-1 and Inmarsat GX5 – in stand-by mode and will be launched at 21.08 GMT (22:08 CET), adding that the two passengers are being maintained in fully safe conditions.

TONIGHT: watch the @Ariane5 #VA250 launch live at 21.08 GMT (22:08 CET) on @Arianespace #Youtube 👉 https://t.co/yw1pM2S4U5

More info 👉 https://t.co/BHplsNsbdH

(pic: ESA/@TrevorMahlmann) pic.twitter.com/a2vFu3T4bB

— ESA (@esa) November 25, 2019

This mission (officially known as Ariane Flight VA250) will be the fourth Ariane 5 launch of the year, and the eighth launch for Arianespace as a whole in 2019, according to Nasa Space Flight.

With the launch of the Egyptian satellite Tiba-1, Egypt will enter the world of satellites intended for communicational purposes, makinga major shift in the field of communication and information technology.

This also contributes to supporting the comprehensive development efforts carried out by the Egyptian Government in accordance with a precise scientific plan that aims to make the best use of Egypt's natural, industrial and human resources to provide a decent life for the Egyptian citizen and place Egypt in the position it deserves regionally and internationally.