Posted: Fri, Oct 14, 2005, 8:45 AM ET (1245 GMT)
An Ariane 5 successfully launched two communications satellites for the French military and an American company on Thursday night. The Ariane 5G lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana at 6:32 pm EDT (2232 GMT) Thursday and placed its two payloads into geosynchronous transfer orbits a little over a half-hour later. The Ariane carried the Syracuse 3A military communications satellite, a 3,700-kg built by Alcatel Alenia Space. Also on board was Galaxy 15, a 2,000-kg commercial communications satellite built by Orbital Sciences Corporation for PanAmSat. Galaxy 15 carries 28 C-band transponders to carry high-definition video services across the United States, as well as an L-band payload built by Lockheed Martin to support the FAA's Wide Area Augmentation System for air traffic control.

Related Links:

•  Reuters article
•  AP article
•  Space News article (subscription required)
•  AFP article
•  Arianespace press release