Arianespace launching an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana on Feb 5. Photo: Arianespace

Arianespace successfully launched its Ariane 5 rocket on Feb. 5 at 6:01 pm (local time) from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. This was Arianespace’s first launch of the year and the 103rd Ariane 5 mission, bringing the number of Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites launched by Arianespace to 374.

Arianespace successfully orbited two telecommunications satellites — the Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 condosat for operators KACST and Hellas Sat; and GSAT-31 for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

“This year we kick off the 40th anniversary celebration of the first launch of Europe’s Ariane rocket with a successful launch of Ariane 5. Through this emblematic flight, Arianespace underscores the reliability of our heavy launcher, the benchmark in the launch segment for geostationary telecommunications satellites. By carrying out a mission for long-lasting customers from three continents – Arabsat, KACST, Hellas Sat and ISRO – we continue to prove the attractiveness of Arianespace’s launch services for customers from around the world, both institutional and commercial,” said Stéphane Israël, Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace.