Ariane 5 Mission Status Center

Four satellites set to join O3b’s expanding broadband network successfully launched Friday on top of a Russian-built Soyuz booster from French Guiana, joining 12 other craft linking developing nations, far-flung islands, cruise ships and other hard-to-reach locales with the Internet.

An Ariane 5 rocket soared into orbit from French Guiana on Jan. 25 with the commercial SES 14 and Al Yah 3 communications satellite, but the launcher missed its mark and released the telecom craft into an unplanned orbit.

An Ariane 5 rocket is counting down to a second launch attempt Saturday to carry two communications satellites into space for DISH Network and Indonesian banking customers, taking the heaviest payload ever launched into geostationary transfer orbit.