Live coverage: Ariane 5 blasts off on commercial flight

Five satellites rode a Soyuz booster into orbit Monday from French Guiana, and these spectacular photos from Europe’s tropical spaceport show the legendary rocket’s fiery departure from the edge of the lush Amazon jungle.

A colorful sunset Tuesday created a dramatic backdrop to Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket, poised on its launch pad at the edge of the Amazon jungle for its 82nd mission.

A nearly 180-foot-tall (54.8-meter) Ariane 5 rocket rolled out of its integration hangar to the ELA-3 launch zone Wednesday at the Guiana Space Center in South America, moving into position for liftoff Thursday with two geostationary communications satellites.