Space News
by Jeff Foust —
ORLANDO — An Ariane 5 successfully launched two commercial communications satellites July 30 in the first flight of the rocket in nearly a year, and the first of two missions before it launches a NASA space telescope.
The Ariane 5 lifted off at 5 p.m. Eastern time from the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket’s upper stage deployed the Star One D2 satellite 30 minutes after liftoff and the Eutelsat Quantum satellite six minutes later, both into geostationary transfer orbits.