21 June 2017, 18:53 GMT
PARIS (Sputnik) — The European Space Agency (ESA) on Wednesday announced a successful launch of its Ariane 5 carrier rocket with two satellites aboard.
"Liftoff Ariane5 VA238 at 23:15 CEST (21:15 GMT)," the space agency tweeted after delaying the launch several times.
The Ariane 5, Europe’s workhorse, carried a Greek telecom satellite Hellas Sat 3-Inmarsat S EAN and an Indian communications satellite GSAT-17.
Stephane Israel, the chief executive of the Arianespace satellite launch company, confirmed half an hour after the liftoff that both satellites had successfully separated from the launch vehicle. They will be put in geostationary orbit.
The rocket blasted off from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. This is the seventh launch this year by the Guiana Space Centre, located in France’s overseas South American territory.
