Ariane puts satellite into orbit

The Ariane 4 takes off on Saturday

EVRY, France -- The European Space Agency has successfully placed an international telecommunications satellite into orbit.

The satellite was delivered on Saturday on an Ariane-4 rocket launched from South America, Arianespace announced.

The rocket lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 3:59 a.m local time (0659 GMT), placing the Intelsat-904 satellite into geostationary orbit about 21 minutes later.

The launch was the second success of the year for Arianespace, the commercial arm of the 13-nation European Space Agency.

The launch was originally scheduled for last Wednesday but was delayed so additional checks could be carried out on the rocket.

The communications satellite will provide Internet, broadcast, telephony and corporate network services for Europe, Africa, Central Asia, the Far East and Australia.

The satellite, which weighed 4.7 metric tonnes (10,300 lb) at launch and was built in California by Space Systems/Loral (LOR.N), is designed to operate in geostationary orbit for over 13 years.

Intelsat, which currently operates 21 satellites, plans to launch two more aboard Ariane rockets before the end of the year

The Ariane-5, grounded since a flawed launch last year, will take off on Thursday

Its first satellite, Early Bird, launched in 1964, was the world's first commercial satellite.

Arianespace said it has firm orders to launch 40 satellites and nine automated transfer vehicles for the International Space Station.

The next launch, scheduled to take place next Thursday, will involve the more powerful Ariane-5, which has been grounded since a flawed launch on July 12 put two payloads into faulty orbit.