Arianespace launching an Ariane 5 rocket, carrying EUTELSAT 7C and T-16. Photo: Arianespace

Arianespace successfully launched an Ariane 5 rocket on June 20 at 6:43 p.m. (local time) from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch vehicle carried Eutelsat‘s EUTELSAT 7C satellite and AT&T‘s T-16 satellite.

Built by Maxar Technologies, EUTELSAT 7C is a high-power broadcast satellite for markets in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Turkey. By increasing power over sub-saharan Africa, it will make room for several hundred additional digital channels to support the region’s rapidly expanding television market. Built by Airbus Defense and Space, T-16 will provide high-power broadcast services to the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

Following the launch, Stéphane Israël, Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace, said: “I would like to thank our two loyal customers for entrusting us with the launch of their T-16 and EUTELSAT 7C satellites. This second Ariane 5 launch of the year reaffirms the reliability of our heavy-lift launcher and its leadership in the geostationary market. We are very proud to count 24 Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites in our order book. Some of them will be launched by Ariane 6, the new-generation launch vehicles scheduled to make its first flight in 2020.”