Ariane 5 launches Japanese and US satellites

Kourou/Paris - With its ninth successful rocket launch mission in 12 months, European space company Arianespace appears set to establish itself as a world market leader in satellite transport. A handout picture taken at Kourou Spaceport, Guiana, France, and released by Arianespace on 15 August 2008 , shows an Ariane 5 ECA rocket with two satellites on board. The first satellite of the type AMC-21 belongs to the US Company SES Americom and the second satellite, a Superbird 7, is the first commercial satellite for the japanese Space Communications Corporation. EPA/ARIANESPACE

A handout picture taken at Kourou Spaceport, Guiana, France, and released by Arianespace on 15 August 2008 , shows an Ariane 5 ECA rocket with two satellites on board. The first satellite of the type AMC-21 belongs to the US Company SES Americom and the second satellite, a Superbird 7, is the first commercial satellite for the japanese Space Communications Corporation. EPA/ARIANESPACE Ariane 5 ECA rocket took off from the launch centre in Kourou in French Guiana on Thursday night to place communication satellites Superbird-7 and AMC 21 into orbit. 'I think it is a perfect illustration of the fact that high performance, reliability and increase of pace can go hand-in-hand,' said Arianespace chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall. In the last 12 months, the rocket has transported 16 civilian and military satellites and the European ATV space transporter into space. The Ariane 5 has become 'a reference' worldwide, said Yannick d'Escatha, the President of the French space agency CNES, adding that Europe had the capacity to become 'a major global space power.' The Mitsubishi-built Superbird-7 is the first commercial satellite produced by Japan. Tha AMC-21 was built by Europe's Thales Alenia Space and Orbital Sciences for the US-based company AMERICOM to be used for television and data transmission in North America. The mission was the 27th successive Ariane 5 launch and the fifth of seven scheduled for this year. The Ariane 5, built by the Astrium space subsidiary of EADS, Europe's leading aerospace company, is the only commercial rocket launcher with the capacity to carry two satellites at a time.