Ariane rocket launches satellites for Eutelsat

By Laurent Marot

KOUROU, French Guiana (Reuters) - A European Ariane-5 rocket blasted off from French Guiana on Saturday putting into orbit two satellites for Europe's telecoms operator Eutelsat, officials said.

The rocket was launched from Europe's space base in Kourou on the northeast coast of South America at 7.35 p.m. (5:35 p.m. EST).

Billed as a cost effective launcher for large satellites, the Ariane-5 is capable of launching payloads of up to 10 tonnes

Arianespace is 30 percent owned by European aerospace giant EADS.

Originally slated for launch on December 10, a general strike in French Guiana stemming from high gasoline prices led to a closure of the South American territory's roads and ports, delaying final preparations for the mission.

Twenty-seven minutes after liftoff the rocket released the Hot Bird 9 satellite to be used for digital and high definition television broadcasting throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Weighing 4.9 metric tonnes (10,800 lb) at launch, Hot Bird 9 was built by EADS-Astrium, the satellite building arm of EADS.

Five minutes later the rocket released W2M for television, data transmission and broadband services. W2M was built in India in a joint venture between EADS Astrium and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

Arianespace President Jean-Yves Le Gall told reporters: "The end of 2008 was stagnant in terms of orders. In 2009, there will probably be fewer contracts and those contracts will be smaller."