Arianespace’s second heavy-lift flight of 2007 deployed two telecommunications satellites into geostationary transfer orbit May 4, the company announced.

The Ariane 5 placed the Astra-1L spacecraft for SES Astra and Galaxy 17 for Intelsat into orbit.

Astra-1L, designed and built by Lockheed Martin, will be located at 19.2° East and carries 29 Ku-band transponders for direct-to-home broadcast services across Europe as well as a 2-transponder Ka-band payload for interactive applications.

Galaxy 17, built by Thales Alenia Space, carries 24 C- and 24 Ku-band transponders for video and data transmission. The spacecraft initially will be located at 74° West to serve North America and the Caribbean and eventually will be moved to 91° West.