Paris - An Ariane-5 booster rocket Wednesday was successfully launched from the European space center at Kouru in French Guayana on Wednesday, carrying a US telecom satellite into orbit, Arianespace officials said in Paris. The rocket carried the 6.9-ton Terre-Star-1 satellite of the US mobile phone network provider TerreStar Networks which is to serve the United States and Canada for the next 15 years.
The last Ariane-5 launching came in May when a rocket brought the largest-ever space telescope Herschel into orbit. Up to six further Ariane-5 rocket launchings are planned by the end of 2009.
