The French Syracuse 3A military telecommunications satellite is scheduled for launch Sept. 29 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket following months of delays that forced French officials to make embarrassed explanations to one of their customers, the 26-nation NATO alliance, according to officials from the French arms-procurement agency, DGA. Syracuse 3A, which has been at the Guiana Space Center space port in French Guiana since the spring, will be orbited together with PanAmSat Holding Corp.'s Galaxy 15 telecommunications satellite. A suspect component on Galaxy 15 was the latest of many reasons why Syracuse 3A was not launched early this year, as originally scheduled. Francois Fayard, director of DGA's observation, telecommunications and information branch, said DGA was obliged to ease NATO officers' concerns that Syracuse 3A would not be available when a long-term lease contract with NATO starts later this year.
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